


Drops of Blue, Sky of Red

by spiffyperson



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Humor, M/M, Romance, Slow Burn, post kh3
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-21
Updated: 2019-07-16
Packaged: 2020-01-23 05:30:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 91,704
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18543256
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spiffyperson/pseuds/spiffyperson
Summary: Aqua wants to help Isa and Lea reconnect on their feelings, while they just want her and Terra to realize a few things about themselves finally.





	1. Chapter 1

“Ok everyone!” Sora pumped both fists into the air, grinning at the gathered crowd of keyblade wielders and friends in front of him. “Operation Remodel this Creepy Mansion to be Not Creepy is a go!”

“None of us agreed to that name,” Roxas was perched carefully on one of the crumbling pillars of the old mansion, using a sledgehammer to keep himself balanced.

“That's cause I made it up like. Two seconds ago.”

“I really shouldn’t be surprised by that. Its a bad name Sora.”

Aqua did her best not to giggle at Sora’s pout, but failed as Sora declared that Roxas was just jealous he didn’t get to name the project first, earning a hard flick to his nose. Watching the younger key wielders goof around and actually act like kids always left an ache of relief in her heart.

It was something they all deserved, after all the hardships they had suffered, more pain then any child ( _or adult_ a hidden whisper slid from the back of her heart _or do you actually want this pain)_ deserved.

After the battle at the Keyblade Graveyard, after Kingdom Hearts and nearly another Keyblade War (could it be a Keyblade War? How many people did it take to fight and die to be considered a war?), everyone was on edge, jumpy and ready to fight despite the danger being finally over. _She_ was jumpy, wanting to keep an eye on everyone and make sure none of them got hurt. The first few weeks were rough, with sleep becoming a fantasy for awhile, as she was certain the shadows held glowing yellow eyes and claws, ready to pull her back into the dark.

She both appreciated and hated the nightlight that had shown up one day in her room, whoever deemed it necessary to gift it to her never speaking up.

But, just as she hoped, things were getting better. She wasn’t naive of course she knew that none of them would ever have a full recovery. When Kairi and then finally Sora returned, the relief she spotted on Riku’s face quickly morphed into fear of losing them again as he embraced them. When Roxas proudly led Xion in, dressed in clothes that for the first time she chose for herself, Lea had excused himself for a moment from the room before returning, his grin hiding the stains on his cheeks. And when Ventus leaned against Terra, a natural sleep overtaking him, she...

It wasn’t important.

All of this (and more) was why though, they needed to take steps to ensure that everything did continue getting better. And remodelling the old mansion at Twilight Town was a good first step.

Many of her new friends didn’t actually have a place to live, due to various circumstances. Roxas, Xion, and Naminé had only been technically alive and with hearts for a few years, and were still teenagers who couldn’t get the money for a home on their own. Lea, despite being even older than her (it was odd, thinking that if she hadn’t been in the Realm of Darkness for so long, she would’ve been older than him), was a Nobody since he was a teenager, and didn’t seem too interested in seeing what property options he had waiting for him back in Radiant Garden.

So she had many homeless friends to deal with, and despite technically having a whole world under her rule (the way Castle Oblivion shifted and molded back into the Land of Departure at her hand was evidence of that), they all seemed more interested in a world where the sun never set.

The mansion then, was an obvious solution to _where_ exactly they’d stay in Twilight Town. While it was falling apart and had a basement filled with questionable devices, it had enough space for everyone who wanted to stay, and more for anyone who wanted to visit or needed a new home. Ansem the Wise was even more than happy to offer any assistance in the venture, willing to dive into his long untouched accounts to pay for remodelling.

And to remove what he had left in the basement.

Some had been hesitant at the idea at first (white walls and computers still caused them to flinch), but eventually agreed that with a bit of work, the memories would be a distant thing. They couldn’t be afraid of the place, it was just a building. And hopefully, with enough good filling it, it could become a home.

It was that or bulldoze the place, and as much as Roxas looked thrilled at the idea to do that personally, even he agreed that it was a good idea to try and fix the place up.

Although the way he appeared to be eagerly goading Sora into a play fight, it was entirely possible that he’d still get his wish. Picking up her set of tools and trying not to be such a worrywart (or a mom), she nudged the dozing Ventus at the door, gesturing to what was about to go down.

“Think you could make sure those two don’t cause more damage with their sparring?”

He blinked a few times, shaking the sleep from his eyes. While he was fully healed with no lasting harm from his decade sleep, he had gained a taste for naps, especially if he didn’t have anything to do for awhile. It wasn’t something to be particularly worried about, as long as he woke up again.

“Mm...” he eyed the two warily. “What if I just...nudged them to the areas we were gonna to rip up anyways?”

“If you can make sure it doesn’t go any farther then that, then sure.”

“Cool,” he stretched, wandering to lean against a closer pillar, letting her enter into the mansion while he watched the two boys duke it out.

Inside the mansion were those who hadn’t stayed to hear Sora’s project name, deciding their time would be better spent working then talking about working. Riku was following Naminé as she held a detailed map of the mansion that told her what things needed to be torn down and what had to stay. Everytime she stopped and pointed, Riku would take a paintbrush and make a large red slash, letting them know where it was safe to break into. Terra meanwhile seemed to have found himself suddenly holding two sets of tools, juggling Xion’s as she excitedly pushed them into his hands, off to go see the friendly brawl outside.

And Lea (or was it Axel, she still wasn’t sure which to call him) was…

Well, it looked like he was quietly bickering with Isa in the corner.

Isa had been a surprising addition to this circle of friends, although one she didn’t mind. While she knew he had been one of Xehanort’s chosen, it was obvious that the whole situation was more complicated than just a loyal follower. He seemed to earnestly want to make up for things, buying ice cream constantly for everyone and even letting the kids get out any frustrations they had at him before apologizing (she still wasn’t sure if it was Roxas or Xion that had given him the black eye he sported the first time she met him, but it was clear whoever it was that it had cleared things up between them). And it was obvious Lea wanted him there, relieved that he was accepted. He always had a smile when Isa talked about skateboards with Roxas, or when he patiently let Xion braid his hair badly.

Although, with the look of confusion on Lea’s face and Isa’s annoyance, it was kind of hard to see that right now.

Moving to Terra, she plucked the extra tools out of his arm, smiling at his look of relief before inclining her head to the two in the corner. “What's that about?”

“Hm? Oh uh,” he narrowed his eyes at the two men for a moment before shrugging. “Don’t know. I think it's just been...going. I hadn’t been paying attention”

She frowned, eyeing the two men in the corner with a critical eye.

She had to unfortunately admit, she couldn’t get a good read on whatever was going on there. Despite considering them her friends (and the fact that she and Lea were both technically part of the Guardians of Light club), she wasn’t particularly close to either of them. Isa she felt was understandable the distance, as he came in later into their group and the fact that he was naturally a quiet man. With Lea though, she only ever seemed to interact with him in groups or when he and Ventus decided to forego training and play around with some old frisbees (one time Lea had pulled out his chakrams instead to toss around, leading to a lot of burnt bushes and a lot of scolding). They were still important to her of course, still people that she wanted to be happy and get better after everything.

So it was really upsetting to her that she couldn’t just look at the two men and understand immediately what was wrong, that she couldn’t begin working out a plan on how to help. This was supposed to be a fun day of ripping out old discomforts not arguing about...well, something.

“Maybe we should do something about that,” she looked to Terra for confirmation.

Terra had gotten use to a long time ago Aqua’s need to watch over her friends (being one of the friends that needed watching over), but that didn’t mean he always agreed with her. Raising an eyebrow, he looked at the two men before making a face that showed his disagreement. “I don’t know, I think whatever is going on it's...just them being them.”

“Them being them?”

“Yeah it's kind of like......like the kids sparring,” he shifted uncomfortably. “I mean, we’ve seen them argue all the time before, yeah?”

It was true, it wasn’t like this was the first time she had seen them bickering in a corner.

“Yes…”

“Yeah. I think it's just one of those ways they show affection to one another.”

“Affection?” Aqua looked back at the two men, blinking rapidly, trying to see where Isa’s frown and Lea’s unimpressed lean equated to that. “This seems...ok yes, I’ve seen them argue before, but this seems more serious. And how is it affection?”

“I don’t know, I’m trying my best with what I remember,” Terra’s huff of discomfort brought her eyes snapping back to him, seeing finally that he was frowning in concentration. “I thought my memories might help figure out what was going on with them but…”

“Oh,” she put a hand up to her lips before shaking her head. “Oh no Terra, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be, it was silly to think I could find an answer there.”

“No, I am, I didn’t want you to dig up memories of...him just to help me figure them out.”

Terra shrugged with a tight smile and her heart ached. She knew that his time possessed by Xehanort left his memories a shaky scrawl, written out but the ink had streaked due to the paper being drowned. Parts of it were there, the rest of it was too blurred to ever be recovered. She didn’t even consider that Terra would attempt to look at any of that to see what insights he would have on Lea and Isa...on Axel and Saïx.

“You’re worrying.”

She snapped out of her thoughts, seeing Terra leaning down to peer into her face, a fond smile on his face. “What? No, I’m not.”

“You have your worry face on,” he gestured to her face with a finger, his smile growing slowly. “I can always recognize it. Aqua, I’m fine. I just wish I could be more help here.”

“You’re always a help,” she gently laid a hand on his arm. “Really Terra. I appreciate everything you do for us.”

He seemed to want to say something before dismissing the thought, letting out a tired chuckle. “Thanks Aqua.”

They were quiet for a moment, standing there and listening to the distant patter of Riku and Naminé as they went deeper into the mansion, the excited shouts of the kids outside, the hushed tones of Isa and Lea.

“If you...ever wanted to talk about...what you do remember,” she hesitated, pulling her hands together and folding them in front of her. “You know you can. With me at least.”

“I know,” he nodded, folding his arms with a sigh. “Its fine. Wish I could pick some more helpful memories, but I guess it doesn’t work that way,” he scratched at his chin, staring off. “But well… at least I can say, I’m pretty sure Sa-Isa and Lea arguing? It's just a thing they do.”

She smiled, feeling that they were on a safer topic (although was it safer or was it just avoiding). “Oh yeah?”

“Yeah. If we needed to worry, we’d see weapons.”

Two hyperactive kids play fighting with keyblades was one thing, but the idea of Lea and Isa fighting (what weapons would they choose?) was somewhat harrowing. “Oof, alright I get the point. I’m still curious about whatever it is they’re arguing about, I mean. It does look serious.”

“I dunno, maybe Lea missed a date,” Terra said it really as a joke, trying to think of more reasons they were arguing about to help Aqua and her curiosity.

He wouldn’t quite get the chance.

“THEY’RE DATING?”

\--

“You’re being ridiculous, and that's supposed to be my schtick you know.”

“At least you’re self aware.”

Lea rolled his eyes at his oldest friend, putting a hand to his chest. “Ouch. That stung, it really did.”

“Mm.”

“I don’t think I’ll ever recover you know from that.”

“You’ll live.”

“Will I? Or will I be just reliving this moment forever, unable to move on.”

Isa’s lips twitched momentarily. “You’ll move on the moment I buy you some ice cream.”

“I’m not easily bought!” he paused for a second. “But I’ll still expect that ice cream, since you have to make up for all this.”

Looking up from where he was trying to rip up some old carpet, Isa raised one eyebrow up in a perfect display of exasperation. “You’re blowing this out of proportion.”

“Am I?”

“Yes.”

“Well that's cause I don’t even know why you won’t accept it,” Lea’s joking manner faded back into the frustration of their argument, his arms folded tight into his body. “Why won’t you tell me?”

“Because I did tell you,” Isa didn’t match his eyes, staring steadily at the work laid before him. “I can pay for my own apartment in town. It's more efficient.”

“But you don’t have to. You could save that rent money for more important things!”

“Like ice cream?”

“Hey! Not just ice cream, I think there are plenty of important things to buy besides ice cream!”

“Of course of course,” he picked up a lone nail on the ground, tossing it to a nearby trash bag so no one stepped on it. “You could say I...have it memorized.”

“Ugh, stop that,” it always made Lea feel self conscious having people parrot his catchphrase back at him. It was an unsubtle jab at the truth that he constantly tried to deny.

The truth that...he really wasn’t that cool.

Before that terrible thought overtook his mind, he was distracted by the fleeting smile flickering over Isa’s lips, making Lea smile reflexively back. “Mm...no. I don’t think I will stop...unless you give up this topic.”

“Oh come on that's unfair,” he leaned heavily against the wall, ignoring the puff of dust that slowly descended upon him. “Me offering you a ho-shelter? You know it's not the worst thing I’ve ever done”

“It will be if you keep pushing it,” the smile was gone, replaced by a frown. “Please. Just drop it already Lea.”

“I just don’t understand why you find living here so-”

“THEY’RE DATING?”

Both men quickly swiveled their heads in unison, looking at Aqua in surprise. She wasn’t one to shout typically, often being the calm and collected one of the group. But right now, she was anything but, a flush quickly taking over her face as she covered her mouth, eyes darting around as she took in everyone who had heard her. Naminé and Riku both leaned around the corner they had disappeared to, the smaller girl looking as if she already knew what was going on (but she always looked like that) while the tall boy had both eyebrows raised in confusion. Terra meanwhile seemed to be trying to use his size to hide Aqua and her embarrassment, ignoring the stares as he leaned over her, whispering something hidden.

“Sorry, sorry!” Aqua waved a hand at those staring, quickly curling into herself. “It's nothing sorry!”

Grabbing Terra’s hand, she dragged the man behind her into one of the rooms. Once they were gone, Naminé and Riku hesitantly returned to their work.

Isa counted quietly down from ten in his head.

He only got to 6.

“So who do you think they found out is dating?”

He figured he shouldn’t be too surprised at Lea being nosy, he had been even when they were children. Shrugging he looked over at the other man, pursing his lips. “Whoever it is, its none of our business, clearly.”

“Spoilsport,” Lea huffed, waving a hand. “C’mon, you have to have some kind of guess. Can’t be those two, although that wouldn’t be surprising, which means it could be one of the kids...man I hope its not, I don’t think any of them has gotten the talk and I don’t want to do that.”

“You are the last person who should give the talk,” he was pretty sure Lea would actually blow himself up (again) in embarrassment. “And once again. It's not our business, Lea.”

“Yeah yeah,” he obviously had already decided to ignore whatever Isa was saying, a hand to his chin as he stared off. He always took that pose when he was processing something important (or at least important to him), muddling it out quietly. Despite his fiery exterior, his thoughts were often quite streamlined, working through puzzles that attacked him quickly.

Although that skill set probably wasn’t gained just so he could wonder which of his friends had gotten a new partner.

“Stop thinking so hard,” Isa poked him, hard, in the shoulder, rolling his eyes at the affronted look tossed his way. “It's not Roxas or Xion, they would’ve told you already if it was. So you shouldn’t worry.”

“Wha-of course its not!” The day they started dating was the day he'd probably finally had a heart attack. “I’m just curious, it has to be someone close to make Aqua react like that.”

“Once again its-”

“Not my business yeah yeah, already got that memorized,” he waved him off. “Still.”

Isa sighed, picking up a sledgehammer, looking off to where Riku’s paint marks told him he should start smashing, before looking back at his friend. “Don’t push too hard.”

“Please,” he scoffed, almost barrelling off before remembering something and looking back at Isa. “Hey uh…”

“Yes?”

He desperately wanted to ask more, pry out the real reason Isa didn’t want to live in the mansion with them. Because there was definitely a bigger reason that kept him determined to stay separated like that. Not even Isa’s serious and logical planning explained it away. But it felt...wrong to push Isa so hard. He would tell him if it was really a big deal, he knew he would.

Wouldn’t he?

“Holler if you get crushed by some wooden beams or something.”

“I would not let that happen.”

“Of course you wouldn’t,” he waved as he trotted off, feeling a twinge of regret. For a moment, he could feel the sensation of being Axel laying heavily on his tongue, goading him into avoiding this talk. But what else could he really do?

If Isa didn’t want to live in the mansion, then that's what would happen, no matter what he tried. They still would spend time together if he really did get an apartment in town, still have the ‘family outings’ with Roxas and Xion that Sora always teased them about. He wouldn’t lose his best friend, he’d still be part of his little makeship family.

And they really did feel like a family, where they looked out for each other and tried to make each other happy.

Still...it stung that Isa didn’t want to live in the mansion.

Shuffling into the room where the Masters had disappeared, still wrapped up in his own thoughts, he stopped and stared blankly at the two almost content to just stare into space for awhile. They were still whispering, huddled together and seeming oblivious to his entrance (was it them just being sloppy or was it because he was too used to sneaking around), the blush still staining Aqua’s cheeks. Picking up the word ‘date’ though through their mumbles made him straighten up and grin, remembering exactly why he had come into there. To be an annoying nosy man.

Sneaking closer he rocked on the back of his heels before leaning straight into their huddle (perks of being the tallest person around), grinning.

“So who's dating who?”

In hindsight, startling two highly trained individuals he knew could kill him in seconds, with weapons that could be summoned at any time was a bad idea. He saw his life (lots of sea salt ice cream memories) flash before his eyes as both flinched, Aqua’s hand lifting to summon her keyblade and Terra looking he’d skip all powerful weapons and just go for a punch.

He had been beaten up by a lot of keyblade wielders (children), but he was pretty sure these two would hit the hardest.

Luckily, they were both too well trained to actually hit him, both dropping their arms with an apologetic look. They didn’t relax though, seeming still tense about his presence.

“Sorry,” he smiled cautiously at them. “Didn’t mean to scare you.”

“Its fine,” Aqua returned his smile, wringing her hands together. “We...did you need something Lea?”

“Need? Not really. Want to know? Yeah kinda,” he rubbed his neck. “Like I asked. Who's dating who?”

“Oh! Um,” Aqua looked at Terra. “No one?”

Terra quickly nodded up and down. “Yeah no one.”

“No one at all.”

“No one is dating.”

“...we think.”

“Well...that's an uncertain answer,” he chuckled. “Do you think someone’s dating?”

“No, we don’t,” Terra spoke before Aqua could, who looked both relieved and a bit annoyed at that. “We were speculating some stuff and got out of hand.”

“Right…” Lea felt kind of disappointed, what was the point of nearly getting punched if he didn’t get any juicy gossip out of it. Before he could poke some more though Aqua spoke up again.

“We saw you were arguing with Isa,” she looked concerned, eyes flickering over his face as if she could find something wrong there. “Is everything alright?”

“Oh. That,” he rubbed his neck again before shrugging. “Yeah it's fine. Don’t worry about it. Grown up stuff.”

“...Lea we’re adults too.”

“Oh yeah,” he eyed the two now disgruntled masters in front of him. “Hey don’t look at me like that! We’re outnumbered by kids, it was a slip of the tongue, and you are younger than me.”

He knew it was only due to harrowing circumstances that they were younger, but his point still stood.

“Sure,” Aqua shook her head before the concern trickled back into her face. “But it did look serious. I don’t want to pry, but if I-” Terra cleared his throat. “-we could help with, you know you can come to us.”

“Yeah, yeah sure,” he nodded automatically, not really sure why they were so concerned with him. He was pretty sure he was under their radar for the most part, something he didn’t mind too much. The sudden concern was touching as well as...unsettling.

“Really, its fine, Isa and I argue all the time,” he waved a hand away. “Really the only thing you could do to help is just keep saying around him how great this place is, maybe hearing it from someone else would convince him to stay here.”

“He was going to move in as well?”

Lea had a moment of realizing that he had only ever told Roxas and Xion about inviting Isa to live with them (if they hadn’t agreed to it he wouldn’t even had tried), before brushing it away. It wasn’t like he was overstepping his bounds, it was his home too. “Nah, he’s going to get an apartment in town. Completely stupid I know but he won’t budge on it.”

“Did you… want him to move in.”

“Well yeah,” he rolled his eyes. “But when Isa puts his foot down, its nearly impossible to budge him. I’ll try again later but who knows.”

He tried not to jump at Aqua’s hand on his arm, looking into deep blue and comforting eyes. “I’m sorry Lea. I know its hard, not getting to keep friends nearby.”

He hesitated for a moment before patting her hand gently. “Yeah. I’m fine though, don’t worry about it.”

“Right, because you’re an adult.”

“That's right, got it memorized,” he smirked at her while she laughed good naturedly. “Also don’t think I forgot what I was asking about before. I can’t be distracted by feelings.”

That was a lie, he could constantly be distracted by feelings.

“It's really nothing to be curious about, I promise,” Aqua folded her hands back together, seeming to push down whatever embarrassment she was having earlier. “Besides, I think we’ve all been missing for too long, we should go and actually help out now.”

“Fine fine, whatever you say,” throwing up his arms, Lea began to walk out the door. “Don’t think this is over.”

“It is over!”

\--

“So,” Aqua shifted the trash bag she held further open so Terra could toss whatever scraps and debris they found. “I know I said things are over, but…”

“You can’t let it be,” he nodded, trying to sweep some old wood shavings together in a pile to gather it up. “As usual.”

“You make that sound bad. ...is it so bad? It might be a pathway to...get to know them a bit more,” she grimaced, her regrets hovering close. “I shouldn’t be so distant to them.”

“You know we’re not going to be best friends with everyone, don’t be so hard on yourself,” he quirked a grin at her. “I might get jealous honestly if you end up with best friends besides me. And Ven.”

“Oh quiet you,” she shared his grin though. “I just think it's unfair, to Lea and Isa, to not try and connect to them. No one deserves to feel...separate.”

“They aren’t though,” Terra pointed out. “They’ve got Roxas and Xion. And even Ven is friends with them. They’re not alone.”

“That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t let this barrier between us continue,” she held up a finger. “Wouldn’t you feel bad if in your circle of friends, there was a couple of them who you don’t really know? While everyone else does?”

He considered her words for a few moments, frowning. He and Aqua did know the rest of the Guardians fairly well, connecting to them due to their shared pasts. Even with Roxas and Xion they had connected to, habits they had with Ven when they were younger kicking in when they saw them.

With Lea and Isa though, it was different. They didn’t need to be taken care of and seemed to be pretty determined to make their current bonds stronger. On both sides the friendship between them just...didn’t seem to begin.

It could be a mark against them, not trying more, but it wasn’t like both sides didn’t.

But they were Masters (or at least he thought grimly, he was an ‘honorary’ Master, having never retaken the test), and they needed to show it. And that meant reaching out to everyone around them and making friends.

“Ok… you have a point. I can accept trying to become better friends.”

Aqua smiled, clapping her hands together but pausing as Terra held up a hand.

“But…”

“But?”

“Is part of the real reason why you’re doing this is just to fulfill your need to live through our friends love lives? Because you know there are romance books for that kind of thing!”

“Hey!” She shoved him over as he laughed, feeling her cheeks flame in embarrassment at his teasing words. “I am not! I do want to become friends with them!”

“And see them get in a relationship! You were always such a romantic.”

“Shut up, you know I was not” she pushed at him again, but she was laughing as well.

It almost felt like before they had taken their Masters exam, when he would tease her and she would put her hands on her hips fuming (but never actually angry), and Ven would laugh at the two of them. It felt good.

“I am not trying to live through them. I don’t need romance.”

“Oh yeah? Then you getting flustered anytime someone tries to ask you out is-”

“Nope!” She held a finger up to his lips, glaring at him. “I am simply becoming better friends to those around us because I care of them. If anything happens because of my attempts its not because I want to live through their love lives. And,” she fixed him with a threatening stare. “I will freeze you to this spot for a day if you suggest otherwise.”

“Dang,” he chuckled. “Fine, I get it, making friends with a side benefit of matchmaking. So, what's the plan?” He rubbed his hands together, bringing up memories of when they would try to surprise Ven for his birthday all those years ago.

“We should invite them to hang out, although before that we should know if they’re dating or not yet.”

“I still don’t think they are.”

“Well, I want a confirmation on that,” she pursed her lips. “And then afterwards we can...hang out with them? Take them to dinner maybe?” She shrugged nervously, not sure what the other two men would enjoy doing. She liked going through her forms or finding a good book to read, things she knew were not entertaining hang out prospects.

“Anyways, it might be nice having closer friends that aren’t teenagers…?” as much as she loved Ven, she was aware there were certain things they couldn’t do with him.

“Mm… I think we need to really think on this plan more, but I’ll follow your lead,” he saluted her and she giggled, saluting him back. “After all you’re the smart one.”

They fell into a companionable silence, picking up trash and occasionally noting anything that would be necessary to tackle before major remodelling. It was calming, working together and not having to be hyper focussed for once.

“Hey Terra?”

“Yeah?”

“...you know I’m not the smarter one yeah?”

“...”

“You’re just as smart as me.”

“...ok Aqua.”

“I mean it.”

“I know.”

“...ok.”

\--

Asking Lea about the nature of his relationship was out of the question, as he would most likely just tease them endlessly for either not knowing or assuming something so ridiculous. Isa was also out, as Terra suspected he might just walk away without actually answering them. So, their best option was to ask the two people who were closest to them.

Roxas and Xion.

The two stuck to each other like glue, making up for lost time and finding new adventures to go on together. Lea was also a constant with them, but was known to occasionally skip out, found napping on some bench as the two competed in who could climb a building (or other structures) faster.

Aqua and Terra managed to find them later that week, chatting excitedly about the Struggle tournament sign ups while gathering some ripped up floorboards they’d be replacing the next week. Taking a deep breath, Aqua walked over to them with a shaky smile, feeling Terra shadowing her steps for emotional support.

“Hi Roxas, Xion.”

“Oh, hi Aqua,” Xion smiled at the keyblade master, adjusting the boards in her arms so she could properly look up at her. “Whats up?”

“Well,” oh, she felt the regret finally hit her for letting her curiosity get so out of hand. “I was wondering if I could ask the two of you some questions? Not about anything serious,” she held up her hands before they could become alarmed. “But I just… There’s something I want cleared up. Preferably sooner than later.”

They looked at each other before back at her, concern evident in their eyes.  

“Ok…” Roxas had a calculating look on his face (she was struck by despite sharing a face, he and Ventus really didn’t look alike). “About what?”

“About...Lea.”

She wondered if she should’ve called him Axel, to them at least. Since she had known them, they always were calling him Axel, even when he introduced himself and asked others to call him Lea. They never made an attempt to switch, and he never asked them too, all of them comfortable with what they called each other. It was just another mark on her confusion on what she should actually call him.

“Axel? What about him? Is he in trouble? Cause he didn’t do it.”

“No he’s not in trouble,” she frowned at Roxas. “Wait, what do you think he did?”

“...nothing,” he coughed. “I just like to say that in case he did do something. Cover all my bases.”

“Because that's not suspicious at all,” Xion nudged him.

Wondering if he should watch out for any pranks in the next couple of days, Aqua inhaled before continuing on. “Well, he’s still not in trouble. I just had some thoughts about things, and we aren’t exactly close like you three are…”

“Uh yeah,” Roxas squinted at her. “That's cause we’re best friends.”

“Yes, the best of friends,” She nodded. “So I’d appreciate, if you can use that friendship of yours to clear up my thoughts on this matter.”

“You still haven’t told us what the matter is,” Xion piped up. “It's like...you’re stalling.”

“I’m not,” she spluttered, looking at Terra who simply raised an eyebrow at her. “Terra. I’m not stalling.”

“Right,” he drawled. “Do you need me to ask or do you want to do it yourself.”

“I can do it,” she snapped her eyes back to Roxas and Xion. “If um. You two would be honest to me that is.”

They looked at each other for a few moments before looking back at her.

“We will be.”

“Yeah sure.”

“Ok, good,” she put her hands together, closing her eyes and inhaling as if she was about to meditate. “Is Lea…”

The silence stretched on between them.

“I mean, does Lea… will Lea…?” she gritted her teeth, feeling her cheeks warm in embarrassment.

“Is he…?” Xion reached out to Aqua, growing concerned for the Master.

“Is Lea...isLeadatingIsaortheyjustfriends?”

They blinked several times in rapid succession before looking over at Terra who sighed.

“Can you say that one more time for them. Slower? And in English.”

She groaned, covering her hand with her face. Why was fighting and teaching so much easier than this. “Are... they in a relationship? Romantically? I know they’re close, but you’re the only two who would probably know if it's more than that.”

The two stared at her now, two sets of blue eyes unwavering from her face as they blinked rapidly in tandem. For a moment she wondered it it was morse code before shoving the thought away as ridiculous. Terra very unhelpfully waved a hand in front of them, looking like if they stood like that for too long he’d begin poking them next.

“You think…”

“That Axel’s dating...

“Axel is not dating Isa! Cause if he was he’d be dead!” Roxas fisted his hands at his sides, fuming at the very idea of it. “He can’t be!”

“I-you don’t know either?” For some reason, Aqua never considered that to be a possibility.

“No we know! Of course we know!” Xion tossed up her hands quickly, banishing away any thoughts that they didn’t know everything about one of their best friends (that was a thought for the past, not the now). “It's just, Lea promised that he’d tell us if anything important came up. And if he started dating well that's like... the ultimate importance. It would be a super big deal if he didn’t tell us he was.”

“Especially if it was with Isa,” Roxas grumbled, crossing his arms and looking off to the side.

“Wait, I thought you had made up with him, it looked like your friendship was getting better,” Terra blinked, folding his arms while Aqua looked at him curiously. She of course new the basics of what was going on between them (she was there when Lea brought him to Yen Sid to evaluate if he was safe to wander around, she heard the story), but Terra acted as if he was personally acquainted with the struggles between them.

Then again, maybe he was.

Once again, she was left wondering at what memories were still rattling around in his mind.

“It is, but…” Roxas huffed. “It's still Isa, he has to like. Ask for our permission first or something.  And if Lea finally got the courage to ask him out, I’d be really angry that he didn’t tell us first.”

“I don’t think he would even be able to without us helping,” Xion nodded. “He’d mess it up somehow by like, dropping ice cream on that jacket Isa really likes.”

“Oh yeah, the one with the moon patch.”

“Mhmm!”

“Wait, wait,” Aqua held up her hands. “Lea...wants to ask Isa out? Lea likes Isa?!”

The two younger keyblade wielders looked at each other before looking back at Aqua with narrowed eyes. “We can’t really say more…”

“Yeah,” Xion sniffed. “It's not good to give up Axel’s secrets he told us in confidence.”

“Yeah he’d probably stop buying us ice cream for a week.”

“Or a month.”

“But...if you’re willing to do us a favor…”

Aqua wasn’t sure what kind of favor they would want, but looking at the two younger teens who had lived their first year of existence in the care of some of their greatest enemies (and Lea), she began to worry. “Um...depending if the favor is equal in value to the information.”

“Aqua…” Terra was paying more close attention now, leaning forward with a nervous look.

“Of course its of equal value,” Roxas grinned. “You do this one thing for us, and we let you know what's going on between Axel and Isa.”

She wondered if she should back out of this now, grasping at straws for an escape. “It kind of seems… wrong that you’re letting me bribe you into giving up Lea’s secrets. You really would do that?”

“Of course we would, Axel was the one who taught us everything for a year,” the speed at which Xion responded left both Aqua and Terra with the faint feeling of whiplash.

“...that kind of makes it sound like he’s your dad.”

“Ew!”

“Gross!”

“He’s our best friend, not our dad,” Xion shuddered slightly. “Don’t say that. The point still stands though. You do us a favor, and maaaaybe we’ll tell you about what's going on between Axel and Isa.”

Aqua and Terra looked over at one another nervously before turning back to the two smirking children. “Alright….what's the favor.”

\--

“This is...have you guys found a regular dentist in town yet? Because if not that is going to be my next favor to you, free of charge,” Aqua sighed, finishing off handing off the munny to the bemused shop owner before turning to where Terra was lifting their purchase onto his shoulder

Neither of the kids seemed to care about what she was saying, as they grinned at the mini fridge that was now personally theirs to fill up with as much ice cream as they liked. Aqua was pretty sure that they could’ve gotten it themselves (there had gone into a lot of effort to ensure those under the age of 18 had their expenses covered; Mickey was a king and Ansem had a lot of guilt, they could afford it), but she got the feeling that they took some pleasure in making someone else buy it for them.

She wondered if they had an encounter with Santa yet. She wondered where they fell on his list.

But how Lea had managed to avoid them cornering him and making him buy it (and also not coming up with the idea first for himself) would be a mystery for the ages.

“You know you’ll still have to buy ice cream to fill this up yeah?” Terra walked out of the store, shaking his head. “It won’t magically summon ice cream, right?”

He seemed worried that it could possibly do that and she smiled.

“No, I don’t think there’s a charm for that.”

“Yeah, but this will make things so much easier! And we won’t have to worry about the store closing on us early anymore,” Roxas was practically skipping with glee, grinning brightly at his new treasure.

“And, we can move it into our room,” Xion added on excitedly, putting her hands together in delight. “The others are going to be so jealous when we tell them.”

“Oh Hayner’s definitely going to kill us,” it was a little unsettling how cheerful Roxas seemed about that. “But he’ll be fine after we give him our new mini fridge ice cream. I bet it tastes better than normal ice cream!”

Aqua had a lot of issues with what they were saying, and as she was an adult she felt should be putting her foot down on at least some of it. But they were good kids, and she wasn’t actually too worried about their eating habits. She knew they ate fine and that sea-salt ice cream was the only thing she had to worry about. She could give them space considering the circumstances.

For now.

After she got the information out of them, she may rethink things.

“Well, now that you have your...favor,” Aqua waved a hand before looking at them with a bright, sharp smile. “I think it's time for your part of the deal?”

“Oh. Yeah.”

Both of them seemed to be jolted out of whatever fantasies they were living in. Sharing a pained look, Xion hunched her shoulders while Roxas cringed, both seeming uncertain how to continue.

“Well...I guess since you bought the mini fridge…” Roxas mumbled.

“And we did say we would…” Xion sighed.

“You did. We were both there,” Aqua gestured to her and Terra who nodded in confirmation.

“Ugh,” they groaned together before nodding, psyching themselves up to give up the information.

“Axel and Isa aren’t dating now...and from what he’s said they’ve never dated...but,” Xion hesitated for a moment before marching on. “Axel did say that when they were younger…”

“He confessed to Isa,” the words spilled out of Roxas in a rush, as if he couldn’t stand them leaving a bad taste behind. “He told Isa once that he had a crush on him, like a full on hearts crush. I still can’t believe he told us that. When did he tell us that?”

“It was during the secret telling week, when he was trying to make up for all the lies from before,” Xion nodded sadly. “He kinda went overboard.”

Aqua quickly processed the information, questions rising to her lips, but Terra spoke first.

“When did this happen?” He shifted the mini fridge on his shoulder, looking curiously at the smaller two.

“Oh, when they were kids I think?” Roxas frowned, rubbing his head. “Said it was right before they became nobodies. How old were they then?”

“I don’t think they know,” Xion shrugged.

Terra nodded, understanding about that discrepancy. Time in and around the Organization had blurred together for its members, and none of them kept track of birthdays while part of it. If it wasn’t for long forgotten files in Ansem’s computer, they probably would’ve been forced to just guess how old Lea and Isa were currently.

“Anyways,” Xion threaded her hands together, fidgeting with them nervously. “Axel wanted us to understand his and Isa’s relationship, why things got to be the way they were between them. Part of that was him having a crush on Isa when they were first human. But I don’t think Isa ever responded, cause they became nobodies before they got a chance. And then all that bad stuff happened,” her fingernails dug into her hands, biting deeper and deeper into skin.

Even after giving forgiveness, it was hard to think of the trauma and simply call it ‘bad stuff’. The adults were quiet watching her, unsure what comfort to offer. Aqua didn’t want to invade her space without permission, and Terra doubted he of all people could help. It was Roxas who finally gently pulled her hands apart, to keep her from leaving marks, and held on tight.

Aqua let the guilt settle deep in her stomach, turning her head to look at the never ending sunset. She seemed to keep reminding people of things they didn’t want to think about.

“It sounds like,” Terra was the one who broke the uncomfortable silence. “That it was a childhood crush then. Its faded away?”

“Oh no, Axel definitely has a crush on him still,” Roxas nodded seriously, Xion slowly following afterwards.

“He told you that?” Aqua was boggled at the idea of him confessing anything so intimate to anyone.

“Like I said, he was having a no secrets week,” Xion chuckled, swinging her and Roxas’ arm between them, already pulling herself back from the dark spot she almost fell into. The two had a stabilizing effect on one another, and she was a very strong young girl. “But yeah, he did. Not that he’ll ever do anything about it.”

“He doesn’t want to mess up their friendship,” Roxas explained to Aqua’s questioning glance. “And Axel says Isa’s probably not interested anyways. So he’s just gonna let his crush die and rebuild friendships.”

“I see...” Aqua nodded slowly, thinking over their words. “I have another question.”

“Do we get another mini fridge?”

“No,” She took a deep breath. “How does Lea know Isa’s not interested in him? Do you know that for certain?”

The two looked at each other, blinking a few times together, before looking at Aqua. “We uh. Don’t.”

She nodded a few times before smiling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My first fanfic in years and in Kingdom Hearts no less. Please comment if you enjoyed, I'm already pretty far into writing chapter 2 but I love that sweet sweet motivation.


	2. Chapter 2

Isa wasn’t sure what he felt about being the appointed responsible shopper for Lea, Roxas and Xion (and more often than naught, for the rest of the keyblade crew, a fact that made him want to explain that they didn’t have to be nice to everyone who no longer was trying to kill them). He wasn’t sure if he liked it or simply accepted it. For one thing, grocery shopping was boring work, and gave his mind plenty of time and wander and think of things that he’d prefer to ignore. He was also becoming a familiar face in the Twilight Town grocery store, and people were starting to stop him for pleasant conversations that made him want to bolt to a new world. He couldn’t help but be anxious talking to strangers, he always was imagining how wrong it could go (especially once they actually knew him).

But if he didn’t go shopping, then he was certain his friends (his heart stabbed him at the word) would end up with an array of unhealthy snacks, something he would not allow on his conscience. 

Although, luckily for him, his shopping trips usually weren’t alone, offering a buffer between him and talkative strangers. He found going with Lea was the least productive, as the man moved like a snail despite being built like a palm tree, and always got him into long winded debates on what food they actually needed. Alternatively, going with Xion was usually a quick affair, as they spent most of the time quietly working through the list of groceries, with him occasionally asking if she’d like to pick up ice cream on the way back.

This time though, he was a tiny bit fearful at his shopping companion.

Actually he was very fearful at his shopping companion.

She currently stood in front of the deli’s meat selection, looking at what was on display in quiet contemplation. Brushing a lock of blue hair behind her ear (Lea believed they had the same exact shade of blue, but Isa thought there was something more waterlike to her hair), she looked back at him with a smile. “We need some ground beef for hamburgers right?”

He nodded carefully, wondering how exactly she was going to beat him up today and why.

Isa was content on spending time strictly only with the three ice cream fanatics, and occasionally Ventus, who was firm in believing them to be friends, despite the fact in their first meeting he was simply a rather grumpy teen. While he did reintroduce himself to the Guardians of Light, and was working on small ways to make up for his past cruel actions to them, he really wasn’t interested in being closer to them. He wanted to just stick to those he really cared about, to not be overwhelmed by the mass of people around him now. Maybe it wasn’t the healthiest idea to isolate himself to only a few select people, but doing more then that seemed daunting and exhausting. Besides, those three really were his main priorities currently, a fact that was going to change for himself for a long time.

So he didn’t feel too bad, politely being apathetic (and ignoring) others who happened to be sharing the same social circles as him.

But his fear of Aqua was making him wonder if maybe he should’ve rethought that course of action, if only to cushion whatever horror she was planning to put him through.

Because that was what this was, right? A build up to some kind of punishment he deserved because he finally misstepped in a way that couldn’t be forgiven. Definitely not just to ask for his opinion on what cut of meat would be better to buy, that would be ridiculous. 

If keyblade wielders who were  _ children  _ left lasting scars, he could only imagine what a keyblade master who spent years in the realm of darkness could do to him.

“Isa?”

He was suddenly, very glad that he had grown use to putting on a stoic face. He hid an uncomfortable swallow before facing her fully on. “Yes?”

“Do you think getting some fish would be a good idea? I remember where we can find a good recipe.”

“That's fine.”

She smiled at him and he felt like he was going to die.

Picking through the fish selection, he drummed his fingers along the carts edge, lost in thought. He was at least not having the normal, nightmare inducing thoughts that bothered him when shopping alone. But the image of Aqua telling Lea that she decided Isa had to go wasn’t a much better one.

“So…” she placed the wrapped fish in their cart, fixing him with a curious look. “I heard you’re getting an apartment in Twilight Town?”

Momentarily, he wondered how she came across that info before frowning. “Lea told you?”

“Yes. He wants me and Terra to tell you how nice the mansion is and how sad we are that we won’t also be living in it,” she grinned, as if they were sharing an inside joke.

That was...unexpected.

“Predictable,” he sighed with a smile, uncertain if he should be annoyed that Lea was trying to rope others into convincing him to move into the mansion, or touched that he apparently talked to the others about him.

It wouldn’t make him budge on his stance, but it was still nice.

“I already have a few listings I’m considering,” he began pushing the card, ready to move to the next aisle of food they’d need to navigate. “I’ll probably sign a lease long before the mansion is done.”

“I’m sure it would be nice to finally have your own space,” everyone who was waiting for the mansion to be finished (and those visiting) were staying at a small bed and breakfast, the owner a sweet lady who didn’t seem to mind several troublesome children running around. There really wasn’t much privacy there, and it could be quite draining for anyone who wanted to clear their mind alone.

“Yes,” he gave a small nod to her statement. 

She picked up a box of cereal (Kairi’s favorite), placing it into the cart. “If you need any help with moving, please let me know.”

He wondered when exactly his stoic gaze had shifted into incredulousness. “That's not necessary.”

“I know, but I want to help,” she smiled at him. “And moving into a new place on your own isn’t easy.”

“...thank you,” he wasn’t sure what to say to that. He knew that Aqua was a kind young woman, but having it suddenly pointed to him left him floundering in confusion.

He was beginning to hope that his fears were completely unfounded.

“I also wanted to ask,” her tone shifted, dragging his eye to watch her as she stiffly put her back to him, focussed on a selection of oatmeal. “If um… you and Lea are good friends.”

“...yes?” Was that the question?

“Right, good, yes,” she nodded robotically. “I knew that sorry.”

He realized in surprise that just like he did, she was trying to plan out what she would say next. It seemed like she was having a losing battle with herself though as she held her hands close to her chest, unmoving. He decided to try and offer her some mercy (especially since it seemed like she wasn’t going to kill him), and cleared his throats. “We have been friends for-”

The rest of his sentence was frozen in his throat as she turned back to him, a wild look in her eyes. “Would the two of you like to have dinner with me. Terra and me! Dinner? All four of us!”

He stared at the keyblade master, blinking as the words swirled around his head.

Dinner, him and Lea, and the two keyblade masters. As if that was a normal situation.

“What?”

“Terra and I found a restaurant in town that looks really nice,” the wave of her hand was a bit more winding than she usually gave, so much so that he was forced to tilt his body back from hers. “I know little Chef’s is the best in town, but I haven’t actually gotten a chance to try many, different cuisines of worlds! And I think this would be a good stepping stone to that!”

“I-that's nice but-”

“The menu also had a nice ice cream selection if you wanted to keep to tradition! No sea-salt flavor though, I’m beginning to suspect that Scrooge has a monopoly on that-”

“Master Aqua!” He probably shouldn’t have yelled, especially when there were a lot of witnesses around who were now staring at them in concern. He inhaled, ignoring the other eyes on them and focussing on her. “Please. Stop for a moment. Please.”

She was startled, but she put her hands down from where they were waving, giving him a small nod. “Ok.”

He inhaled, closing his eyes and tried to think clearly with the space she granted him. She asked him to go to dinner with her and Terra. Lea was invited as well (for a moment the thought of him being invited alone to this hit his mind, and he was glad for small mercies). Without having previously showing any interest in spending time with them before. 

And also the fact anyone inviting him out for dinner seemed...ridiculous.

He paused on that thought for a second.

Lea might be onto something about his self deprecation. 

“Why… do you want me to go to dinner with… actually why did you ask me?” He pulled a confused frown on her.

“Why wouldn’t I ask you?” Confused frown met confused frown.

“Because…” he closed and opened his mouth, a million answers coming to his lips before he settled on one that avoided most of what he was thinking. “Why wouldn’t you ask Lea instead?”

“Lea?”

He nodded. “I’m certain if you asked him, he would jump on it and drag me along before I knew what was happening.”

“Oh,” Aqua blinked, taking that piece of information and filing it away (something that was vaguely worrying). “Well... because I don’t want you to feel like you’re being dragged along. I want you to choose and actually want to come.”

“You...do? Why?”

She smiled at him nervously, back to twisting her hands together. “Well… we don’t know each other that well. I know you even less then Lea, which, trust me that's also something I’ve been thinking about,” she blew out a strained laugh, her bangs lifting momentarily in its breeze. “I don’t… like being separate from people I see all the time. So I’d really like to become friends with you, or at least to get to know you better.”

He didn’t know how to properly respond to her wants. Despite the fact that everyone hadn’t shown any problem with him being around now (for better or worse), someone wanting to reach out first to be his friend was always a fantastical notion. 

He was barely able to accept in his heart that he was now actually part of a circle friends, to really make up and work to protect the children he once hurt so much, to become best friends again with Lea. Anything more was… impossible for him to even comprehend.

Taking his long silence as a go ahead, Aqua piled on with her pleas. “Also, it would be nice to hang out with other adults for once. I love Ven and the others, don’t get me wrong,” she put up her hands in defense of herself. “But, Terra and I really do want a chance to more than just, guardians and talk about… adult stuff?”

He felt his lips twitching. “Adult stuff? Like...taxes?”

“No! Well maybe, I have been wondering when that problem is going to come up here, especially cause I don’t know how taxes work on this world,” she tilted her head back considering. 

“It is a problem with constantly world hopping,” Isa agreed, catching her off guard at the tinge of humor in his voice.

“I mean!” she waved a hand, trying not to laugh at the very serious discussion of taxes. “Just...being able to relax together, maybe get a drink, chat with some friends closer to my age would be a nice thing to do once in awhile.”

He was pretty sure that Aqua and Terra were still closer in age to the teens then they were to him and Lea. He was also pretty sure they were still a year or two away from being allowed to legally drink (on this planet at least). But, they had spent enough time in their own individual limbos that he wouldn’t stop them from a drink or two.

But he still had some anxieties surrounding this whole situation.

“I’m still not...certain about myself in all this,” he held his arm, making a face. “You’d have plenty of fun with Lea on his own. I’m-”

“If you came we’d have an even group! Us two and you two, perfect pairs,” she put her hands together, her eyes looking momentarily shifty before they were back to being open and bright. “No one will feel like an outsider if we all have someone we’re already comfortable with there. And that way, I won’t have to deal with Lea making some ridiculous plan and Terra going along with it just to mess with me.”

“So you really want me to go… to babysit Lea,” honestly that wouldn’t be too different from what he normally did.

“And to make new friends,” she smiled hopefully at him, bouncing on her tip toes as she waited for his final decision.

He looked at that smile, her earnest words pushing close to him. Finally, he sighed, knowing that he had already given in. It appeared that it wasn’t only Xion’s puppy dog eyes that he had a weakness too. “Alright, that sounds...fine. I’d be happy to join you two for dinner. I’m sure Lea will be too.”

Watching her grin in success had him relaxing a little bit. Despite his misgivings, he was certain he could accurately say that Aqua of all people didn’t have any devious plans hiding in plain sight.

\--

“So, what's this devious plan?”

“It's not a devious plan,” Aqua sniffed, folding her hands together. “It's a very nice plan to get two of our friends to talk about their relationship and get it sorted. And also actually be friends with them finally.”

“Right,” Terra smirked, putting a fist to his chin as he leaned against the table they were sitting at. “You know if either of them knew about this, they’d run very, very far away from you.”

“And that's why they aren’t going to know,” she was very firm on that part of her plan

“How are you going to keep it from them? Lying?”

“I,” she cringed. “A...little lie. But one surrounded by truth!”

“Ahuh,” he knew she didn’t like the idea that her matchmaking attempts did require a level of lying by omission. But, he couldn’t quite judge her until he fully understood what she was trying to do. So, with a wave of his hand, he waited for her to take the stage to explain what they were going to do.

“Ok,” she pushed the topic of lying to the back burner for now, diving in. “The first part of this plan, is to make better friends with them. Which” she held up one finger, “is something I think we should do even if we weren’t doing the other stuff. Even if they end up not wanting to be in a relationship, we should still try to be better friends.”

Terra nodded, as that one point he could happily agree too. Even he knew that they hadn’t reached out as much to the previous nobodies as they had with the rest, (although he felt the first couple weeks gave him a better friendship with Roxas, if only for the fact that he had to learn fast not to keep mistaking him for Ventus) leading to an awkward state of being friends but not really. Besides, it never hurt to make more friends, having more bonds connecting them. And hopefully, with a larger group sticking together and looking out for one another, they wouldn’t repeat the mistakes of the past.

Hopefully he wouldn’t make any more mistakes.

He slid his hand over his mouth as if hiding a smile, knowing that the movement was his own little white lie to Aqua. She didn’t need to know what were in his thoughts right now.

“I guess it’ll be nice for once to not have to always be looking down when I talk to someone,” he tapped his free hand on the table. “I guess that's the benefit of adults.”

“You do that with me too,” she pointed out.

“Yeah, but you’re normal sized. They’re both giants, especially Ax-Lea,” he considered for a moment. “Do you think being a Nobody just makes you really tall.”

“I guess we’ll just have to see how tall Roxas and Xion turn out,” Aqua grinned, making a smile rebloom on his face. “Anyways, that's the first step in this plan. The second step is uh well. We can’t do any more steps until we figure out if Isa is interested in Lea in the same way. But we’ll know after the first date.”

He paused, zeroing in on her last words.

“What date?”

“Well, hang out for us, date for them,” she shrugged. “Its semantics. They obviously won’t realize that its a date cause we’ll be there too.”

That made sense to Terra. No one would assume good friends such as themselves would invite others on a secret date.

“Try and not refer to it as a date around them, or else they’ll quickly catch onto your devious plan.”

“Not devious,” she wagged a finger at him before pushing a lock of her hair behind her ear. “We need to see if during this dinner if Isa feels the same way about Lea. Or, get Lea closure on never getting an answer to his confession. It can’t be healthy for him, letting old feelings go fester.”

Terra mulled over her words, considering how it could apply to more then just Lea. He was pretty sure that he and most of the others were sitting on old emotions, pushing them down and ignoring them.

He was pretty sure that Aqua was as well.

“Do you think its...ok to try and push a confession out of them?” he looked at her seriously, putting his hand over hers. “I know you’re doing this for good reasons Aqua but… What if we push too far? What if you push too far? They may not appreciate us inserting ourselves into their personal business.”

She opened her mouth before closing it, thinking seriously. She knew he was on some level, right. Trying to nudge two people together into dating, when it was entirely possible neither was interested in it, had a lot of potential to blow up in his face. Nor was it a particularly mature thing to do, especially as a keyblade master.

But she saw how disappointed Lea was that Isa wasn’t going to move in, and she knew that Isa would do anything for the other man. There needed to take the next step of their relationship, whether that was in friendship or in romance, and talk through what they wanted together.

She just wanted her friends to be happy. And to not let the past get in the way of that happiness.

“If I start overstepping, then I’ll stop, no matter what I want. I’m hoping I’d stop before then but,” she fixed him with a look, moving her hand to hold his. “Will you...will you watch out for me Terra? Make sure I don’t do anything stupid.”

He was pretty certain that she was supposed to be the one making sure he didn’t do anything stupid. But here she was asking him, and despite the painful twinge in his heart, he couldn’t help but feel honored that she’d trust him enough still to ask him.

(Should she trust him still?).

“Of course Aqua. You know I’d do anything for you.”

\--

“I want you to make sure Aqua knows that you guys can’t do this dinner thing all the time,” Roxas pointed a wrench at Lea, making sure he was paying attention. “Its right during clocktower ice cream time, and I don’t appreciate missing out on the sunset with you guys.”

“Oh yeah,” Lea chuckled, tightening a bolt on one of the water lines (a lot of it had to be replaced they were quickly learning). “I would hate to miss out on the never ending sunset that I can see anywhere in town.”

He felt the very telling thump of a wrench against his back. “Hey! I’m fragile!”

Roxas snorted. He had seen in some of his toughest scrapes, and even then he still managed to pull himself up and start rambling on about memorizing something. He doubted a half hearted wrench throw would faze the man.

“Seriously though. You’ll make Xion sad if you miss out on too many.”

“How about you,” Lea turned from the pipes, folding his arms and looking at Roxas with a raised eyebrow and a barely suppressed smile. “Would you miss me?”

“...no. I’ll just share yours and Isa’s share of ice cream with the others.”

“Mean,” Lea put a hand to his heart (it was nice to have one to really complete the gesture). “Why are all my friends being mean to me lately?”

“Maybe you deserve it.”

“Nah definitely not,” he waved his hand. “Anyways, don’t worry to much. I doubt this is gonna become a thing,” he stood up, stretching after being hunched over pipes for so long (Roxas scowled at the unnatural height of his friend). “Aqua just needs to get whatever this out of her system and then we’ll be back to ice cream every sunset.”

“Get what out of her system, exactly?” Roxas picked up his thrown wrench, gathering up the rest of their stuff as Lea grabbed the new pipes, moving to the next section they’d have to replace.

“I dunno. Maybe she doesn’t like that we’re so distant from her. Or it's probably something like a team building exercise. We don’t hang out often, which she’s going to fix with dinner I guess,” he paused considering the other options available to him. “Maybe she’s just using us to order alcohol for her since we have IDs over 21.”

The idea of Aqua and Terra trying to convince Lea to buy them alcohol had Roxas snort, shaking his head. “Yeah it's probably the first one. She’s like a mom and we’re all her kids. Its weird.”

“Especially weird for me,” Lea shook his head, pulling back a panel to get to the pipes. “Alright let's get this next one done.”

“Yeah yeah,” Roxas settled in to help as Lea began removing old and rusted piping, watching him quietly.

Roxas, of course, had a good idea of what Aqua was actually doing by inviting Lea and Isa to dinner. After his and Xion’s talk with her, she didn’t ask anymore about their relationship but it was obvious that she was scheming. He wasn’t sure what to do about it and if he should warn Lea about it. He was glad that a part of Aqua did want to become better friends with Lea, that it bothered her enough that she was reaching out to those around him to learn more. It was also nice to see Terra was tagging along with the venture, that Lea could start to look forward to having more friends.

It was obvious that his best friend still struggled with loneliness; losing everyone in such a quick concession was a blow he still wasn’t recovering well from. Maybe more people could keep Lea from falling into desperate, stupid acts again.

But the fact that these new, possible friendships came along with an attempt of setting up Lea and Isa made him feel like he was in a bad romcom.

Would he mind if Lea found himself in a relationship? Probably not no, he’d enjoy making whoever it was nervous. But it was with Isa, and that was...

He wasn’t sure if his forgiveness had actually extended far enough to accept the idea of them dating.

The day Isa had reentered their lives had been one of mixed feelings. It had been obvious, watching him fade away in Lea’s arms in the Keyblade Graveyard, from the words he said, that things weren’t as simple as hatred between them. It grew even more complicated as Xion explained the hidden steps he had taken to help bring her back.

The hidden steps to ensure that he could also come back.

But that didn’t mean they immediately forgave him. That would be too easy after everything that had happened.

Isa was quiet for the two minutes as they glared before finally speaking.

“I’m sorry,” his long blue hair hung in his face, hiding eyes that were green again after a decade of gold. “I’m sorry for everything I put the two of you through. I know saying that doesn’t make up for anything but… I hope you’ll give me a chance to. To make up for it,” he looked up at them hesitatingly. “And if you won’t... I understand.”

Lea had been sitting off to the side, looking at none of them and Roxas had faintly wondered what had been said between them before this meeting. What apologies had they given each other, what steps did they take. What ultimatums were given.

This thought didn’t stay long as Xion punched Isa square in the face, something that if it was any other time, probably would’ve left him grinning.

Instead, he stood back in alarm, jaw dropped and eyes wide as they flicked between the two of them, worried a claymore would flash into existence and dole out punishment. Meanwhile, Lea ran forward (“holy shit Xion”), almost slipping in between the two as if he was prepared to hold them back from a fight.

It wouldn’t be the first time he used himself as a shield between friends.

“You have to make up for it even if we don’t give you a chance today.” Xion’s voice shook as she looked at the man who had been her bully for so long. Who had brought her back and she had helped beat back down. “You don’t get to get off easy if we decide we don’t want you around.”

Isa slowly turned to look at her, his left eye already swelling up. He gave a small nod, and Roxas wondered if he’d agree to anything they’d say right now. “Of course.””

“Good,” she turned to look at Roxas. “Well?”

He was confused at the attention snapping to him, before looking at Isa. He was staring steadily at him, and Roxas remembered when he would feel anger at every snide comment and look.

Now, the faint touch of desperation on his face made him just tired. It didn’t help he could see Lea as well, still standing there as if he was ready to shield his friends from hurting each other. 

“We can give him a chance. For now.”

At the time, he couldn’t properly comprehend what he had just said. It felt as if they had snapped off, existed as a separate entity from him. Even as Xion nodded and accepted the thought, he still couldn’t quite grasp where the words were coming from.

He didn’t want to believe yet that things could move on.

But they did, slowly, definitely not smoothly, but slowly. Some days he couldn’t stand being around Isa, some days he was ambivalent to it. But slowly, days where he actually enjoyed Isa being there entered his life. They began to overtake the other days, and he found himself looking forward to seeing Isa show up with a bag of ice cream for them. When Lea had asked if it was ok to invite Isa to move into the mansion as well, Roxas was surprised to find that he actually liked the idea.

Somehow, slowly, he became fine with the idea of being friends with Isa.

But still. 

Lea and Isa dating was just too much for him to accept at once.

He hoped Aqua would fail.

But that felt like a really mean thing to hope for (and still deep down, his heart looked a lot like Sora’s), so he just hoped that if it did happen, he’d get some warning. And maybe Isa could ask permission first from him and Xion.

“Hey I think I need the screwdriver,” Lea held out his hand, pulling Roxas out of his thoughts as he eyed the work in front of him.

“Got it,” Roxas passed it over, swallowing tightly. “Hey...Axel?”

“Yeah?”

He couldn’t say what he wanted to, not now, but he could say other things. “Don’t become better friends with Aqua and Terra then us, ok?”

Lea blinked, pulling away from the pipes and looking at Roxas, who squirmed uncomfortably at the stare.

“Yeah, ok,” he nodded slowly.

“Seriously though, just...don’t.”

The moment stretched out between them before Lea smiled, putting a hand on Roxas shoulder. “Yeah. I got it memorized. Don’t you worry. The two of you will always be my best friends.”

Roxas idly wondered where Isa fell in this scenario, but he still smiled at Lea. “Ok. Thanks Axel.”

Lea bumped his fist gently against Roxas’ chin before turning back to his work. “C’mon, let's get this done. Can’t live in a place with no running water.”

\--

“This might be...the wrong kind of running water,” Terra ran a hand through his hair, sighing at the sight of chaos before him.

Apparently, one of the water lines hadn’t been turned off, and neither Lea nor Roxas had noticed. Both of them were currently standing in a steadily growing puddle, looking like a pair of annoyed, waterlogged cats as a broken pipe behind them sprayed water at them.

It also answered the question if Lea’s hair was naturally that spiky. While it still looked absolutely ridiculous, it was clear that he spent time styling it to get it just right.

He was almost tempted to take a picture and show it to the others.

But he really should get this situation under a control.

“Ok, we’ll need to get to back to the main line and shut this off,” he considered simply freezing the water, but he wasn’t sure if that would just cause more damage. “You guys ok?”

“No,” Roxas ground out, lifting his legs awkwardly as he stomped through the puddle towards him. “Do we have any towels here?”

“Just the paper variety, you’d have to go back to the bed and breakfast to really dry off,” not to mention the fact that their clothes were completely soaked through.

“Maybe I could use a fire spell, steam off the water” Lea mused, coming at a slower pace and doing his best to ring out the water from his jacket vest. When it seemed like it couldn’t be run out any more, he dropped it on Roxas’ head, the wet slap making Terra cringe. Roxas meanwhile was looking at Lea as if kicking him through a wall was the only thing he wanted to do right then.

“I don’t think fire would work here,” and not to mention the amount of damage that would undoubtedly bring. “You guys go outside, I’ll go turn off the water. Maybe you’ll dry out in the sun.”

They both trudged off, Roxas pushing Lea into a wall as he laughed, leaving behind a snail trail of water. Terra meanwhile ran off in the other direction to where the water line was. He really didn’t want an even worse mess on their hands, they already had enough to do.

“Oh hey-” he saw a streak of red as he was sprinting past. “Terra?”

“Sorry Kairi,” he called over his shoulder, “Gotta stop us from getting an indoor pool.”

“But that sounds really cool!”

He chuckled at the shout that followed, waving back at her. Sliding into the room where all the valves and switches were, he went down the list until he found the right one (apparently it hadn’t been turned tight enough) and quickly shut it off before sighing.

Now he’d have to clean up that mess.

Back to wondering if freezing it would be an easier way to deal with it.

“Terra?” it appeared that Kairi had caught up to him, looking into the room curiously. “Did you save us from the fun fate of indoor pools?”

“Oh,” he chuckled, wiping his hands on his pants. “I think so. I probably should check that it really did turn off the water,” He paused, looking at her. “Did you need something?”

He doubted she followed after him just because she was curious.

“Oh!” She blinked before nodding, fumbling through her pockets till she pulled out an envelope. He tilted his head to see his name written elegantly on the front. “Riku wanted me to pass this on to you, he had to check something out and couldn’t do it himself.”

“Huh,” He took the letter, looking at the stationary carefully. Everyone had gotten a gummi phone after the battle, and even he had one, although he still didn’t understand most of its functions. But he managed to get the texting down alright, so he couldn’t imagine why Riku would send a letter instead. “Thanks.”

“No problem,” she smiled at him before bouncing on her feet. “I’m gonna go check out that pool you mentioned!”

“You know, you might actually want to check on Roxas and Lea first,” he smirked slightly, remembering his previous thought to take pictures. “They both got hit by the water and are looking pretty bad.”

Her eyes brightened and she gave him two thumbs up before racing off to see what embarrassing photos she could get of her friends. He smiled as he watched her go (he was reminded of Aqua laughing at him and Ventus in the past) before looking down at the letter in his hand.

Riku didn’t send letters.

Not normally.

Not ever.

Carefully breaking the seal he pulled out the paper inside, his eyes scanning over the words, his heart sinking lower in his chest as he read.

 

_ Terra- _

_ My apologies for reaching out to you in such a distant way, but I am currently unable to contact you otherwise. I personally am not not interested in owning a gummi phone, as I’m sure you’ve learned my tower greatly hampers its functions.  _

_ I am writing to you as I have been alerted to the fact that you will be spending time in Twilight Town to remodel the mansion. I feel this would be a perfect opportunity to deal with some lingering details from your past. I’d like you to take the train to my tower at your earliest convenience, to discuss the nature of the darkness in your heart. I understand well the years of struggle you’ve had, and your current status is a testament to your strength and self control. But, I believe we can ensure a greater sense of security for yourself, especially with young Riku’s help. I can explain more when you arrive, but his mastery over the darkness may prove beneficial to someone such as yourself.  _

_ This is of course, if you feel any of this is necessary. The final decision is up to you, of course. While never made official, I consider you a fully fledged Master just like Aqua, and I trust your opinion in the same way. Do not worry about calling ahead, I await your presence. _

_ Yen Sid. _

 

He carefully refolded the letter into its envelope, making sure not to crease it, before putting it in his pocket. He left the room, heading back towards the flooded room to clean up one mess.

\--

“Kairi, really could do without the paparazzi bit now,” Lea did his best to squeeze his hair out, annoyed at how much of its sculpted shape was gone. Sitting out in the sun and drying off wasn’t going to miraculously restyle his hair, as much as he wished it would.

She giggled, still holding her gummi phone pointed towards him and Roxas, who was currently sprawled out on the grass and doing his best to ignore her. “C’mon, we never see you with your hair like that. We gotta save it for the memories. Or, do you not want us to get it-”

“Ah!” he held up a finger at her, stopping her before she could finish his catchphrase. “Jeez I get I say it all the time, but that's not a reason to throw it back at me.”

“Why not,” Roxas slowly grinned. “We did get it memorized.”

“Hey.”

“Yeah,” Kairi was quick to latch onto what Roxas was doing. “Do you not want us to get it memorized?”

“Stop.”

“Because we can stop getting it memorized,” Roxas nodded.

“Really.”

“Yeah, we’ll get this memorized instead,” She paused, thinking. “Memorize not getting it memorized?”

“Guys please.”

“We’ll forget to get it memorized, that's what we’ll do.”

“You’re both terrible friends,” Lea pouted at them.

Kairi and Roxas looked at one another before laughing while Lea put his hands on his hips, refusing to give up his exaggerated pout (although he had to admit, it was kind of funny). “I mean it, super terrible.”

“Ahuh sure,” Roxas waved a hand at him, still grinning.

“Hmph,” he rolled his eyes before spotting a figure walking out the mansion. “Sora! Agree with me!”

“Ok?” he looked at the still giggling Kairi and Roxas in confusion. “I agree with you?”

“There,” He grinned, pointing at his two traitor friends. “Sora knows what's right.”

“Don’t use Sora’s kindness against us, he doesn’t even know what's going on,” Kairi moved to shove him before pulling back. “Eugh you’re still all wet.”

“Do you want a big hug then?”

“No!”

Lea finally broke into laughter as Kairi moved to hide behind Sora, using him as a bemused shield. He looked at both Roxas and Lea, taking in their drowned cat states.

“Why are you wet?”

“Why aren’t you wet?”

“...good point,” Sora grinned, tugging at Kairi so she would stop using him as a shield. “Seriously though, why?”

“Eh, water main wasn’t turned off, got messy,” Axel flopped to the ground, sighing as he began taking off his boots, needing to get rid of the sensation of wet socks. The kids laughed as he dumped out the water that had collected in them, before he shucked off his socks and flannel. He was still in a very wet undershirt and pair of pants, but that was enough for him to lean back onto the grass and get comfortable. Tossing an arm over his eyes he sighed. “Wake me up when I need to rotate to dry the back side of me.”

“Why don’t you just go back and actually dry off,” he felt one of the kids nudge him with their foot.

“I can avoid work this way and take a nap, that's why.”

“...that's lazy!”

“Yep,” he popped the P, not really caring if he got in trouble for this. It would’ve taken him at least an hour to leave and come back anyways. This way, he could actually relax for a bit, even if it was on the grass.

He heard the hushed chatter of the three kids and did his best to tune them out, falling into a light doze. After years of practice, he was good at falling asleep wherever he was, and the feeling of the low sun slowly warming him up was like a soft blanket. He was even able to ignore the crunch of someone’s footsteps coming up to them, refusing to wake up enough to attempt a greeting at the moment.

He was not able to ignore something heavy suddenly landing on his stomach though, blowing the air out of him in a rush as his head snapped up. Standing above him was Isa, who had a pleased smirk on after dropping a bag on him. “Comfortable?”

The kids laughed behind him as Lea scowled, properly sitting up and looking at the bag. “You’re also terrible,” he sneaked a look inside, raising an eyebrow. “There’s no ice cream in this.”

“No, because it would be rude to ruin your appetite before dinner,” Isa looked at him up and down (Lea blamed the sudden increase of warmth at the sun) before turning to Roxas. “Why is he wet?”

“You know I can answer that myself.”

“He forgot to turn off the water when we were replacing some of the pipes.”

“Hey! You were right besides me with that! It's your fault too!”

“I’m sure it's just your bad influence,” Isa chuckled softly. “But you should go back and change, Master Aqua wants us at seven, remember?”

Realizing he heard the clock chime five a while ago he frowned. He supposed he did need time to make sure his hair was back to its normal fluffy spikes. “I guess so…”

“You’re making more friends,” Kairi gasped, and Lea momentarily wondered when she had gotten close enough to Isa to tease him, before realizing her attention was directed to him. “I’m so proud of you Axel!”

“Hey! I have plenty of friends!”

“But like, real adult friends!”

Isa waved a hand at himself that Kairi ignored while Roxas snickered at him.

Lea scrambled up, pointing at the smaller redhead. “You keep talking like that I may end up with one less friend.”

She stuck her tongue out at him. “I’m not scared of you, you’re stuck with me being your friend for-ev-er,” she grinned as Sora and Roxas laughed. Even Isa was grinning.

“Oh yeah?” He began moving closer. “If you want to stay my friend so much, then give me a big friendly hug!”

“Axel no! You’re still wet!”

Sora began cheering Kairi on to escape Lea, while Roxas yelled after them “What's the point of having those stilt legs if you can’t catch her!” Isa simply smiled as he watched, moving to put the bag near Roxas’ stuff so he and Xion could have it later. Speaking of Xion…

“Roxas? Where’s Xion today?”

“She went with  Namin é to pick out paint swatches,” he dragged his eyes from the chase scene in front of him, shrugging. “I dunno why, we aren’t going to be painting for ages.”

Isa felt his shoulders relax from a hidden tension, and was surprised. He knew that Roxas and Xion couldn’t really spend every moment together (despite nearly doing that), but seeing them together was a constant proof that they were ok. Seeing them apart made him worry, that something had gone wrong or someone was forgotten again.

He didn’t realize how much it meant to him that they were ok.

“I hope they come back before all the ice cream melts,” he simply said, instead of the relief roaring in his mind.

“What, you did have ice cream?” Lea had managed to grab Kairi, using his height to avoid her flailing hands from jamming into his face to push him away. “Where are you hiding it?!”

“In the bag I gave to Ventus before walking over here.”

Lea groaned before jerking his head further back as Kairi finally managed to push off the ground hard enough to reach his face, the momentum forcing him to let her go. She ran over to Sora’s side, groaning.

“Ugh, now I have weird Axel sweat on me,” she patted her clothes where he had hugged her while Sora laughed.

“It's not sweat its-nevermind,” Lea rolled his eyes as he walked over, picking up his wet clothes and shoes. “I need to clean up before someone else decides I’m prime picking on material. Roxas you wanna come with?”

“Nah, I’m gonna wait for Xion to come back, we’re going to meet with Hayner, Pence and Olette at the clocktower since you two,” he pointed at both Lea and Isa. “Are going to stupid adult dinner. You’re gonna have way less fun than us.”

Isa felt touched that Roxas was annoyed at him as well for missing the traditional sea-salt ice cream time. It meant that he really was wanted there, not just simply accepted.

“Yeah yeah, you’re probably right depending on the quality of ice cream at this place,” Lea jerked a thumb at Isa, raising his eyebrows. “Coming?”

“Sure,” he looked at the kids, trying to work out in a split second how he’d say goodbye. ”Roxas, Kairi, Sora,” he gave a small inclination of his head.

“Make sure he doesn’t start any fights,” Sora grinned, putting his arms behind his head while Kairi giggled.

“I did ask Master Aqua if I was only invited to babysit him, so I suppose I’ll try.”

“You asked her what? What did she say!”

Isa refused to answer Lea’s outraged yell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the kind comments last chapter, each notification made me grin like no tomorrow. Made me really happy that I'm writing this.
> 
> Can't say I'll get each chapter out this quickly, but chapter 3's rough draft is about halfway written.


	3. Chapter 3

Scrooge was consistently walking the fine line of hardworking and going overboard. Never one to be simply content with the state of things, he was always ready to jump on the next best idea, always ready to refine his business plans. And he would always feel great pride in seeing his plans pay off, further expanding his business so the next grand venture would turn out even easier.

Twilight Town was turning out to be one great venture in his opinion, one he felt he’d stick to a couple more years (expand the brand on world before moving on as it were). In just a few short months, he could proudly say he owned the most popular bistro in Twilight Town. Of course, he would give most of the credit to Little Chef, but he was the one who recruited him, so it was in his mind, thanks to their partnership. He didn’t have to bother with as much advertising anymore (although he still did, paying the towns kids who asked him for jobs and watching in amusement as they came back to buy ice cream from him), word of mouth now taking care of most of that hassle. 

He could relax in the knowledge that for now, this business would be steady in its fame. It was a great boon, as he was already thinking of opening another restaurant in town, after Little Chef was content with training the new staff.

The only way they could keep that plan going is if new people kept showing up, and if their regulars didn’t abandon them.

So seeing two of the keyblade wielders, all of whom were well known to frequent his quaint establishment, walk on by, talking about dinner elsewhere, he was quick to run in and cut them off.

Under no circumstances was he going to allow such an affront to his dignity stand.

“Now’a, hold it right there you two!” he shook his cane up at them. “What's the hurry? You two seem more rushed then usual.”

“Hello Mr. Scrooge,” Aqua gave him a smile. “We’re just going out to dinner tonight, nothing special.”

“Well! You know I think your normal table is still free, let me go seat you immediately!” He waved at a waiter, expecting him to know immediately from quick eye contact from 20 feet away what he wanted.

The waiter, who most definitely did not know what he wanted, moved to run inside and pretend like he knew exactly what he needed to do.

“Oh, that's very kind of you, but,” she shared a look with Terra. “We actually already have reservations elsewhere. We can’t stay tonight.”

“Reservations? Elsewhere?” He put both feathered hands on top of his cane, fixing them with a look that would have his three nephews stumbling out of whatever trouble they had gotten themselves into. “Ye can’t mean you’re skedaddling to give my competitors your patronage.”

“It's not like that,” Terra looked particularly worried at the idea of upsetting the business duck. He really did love the food at Le Grand Bistro, and would be sad if he had to cut it out of his schedule. “We just wanted something new tonight. And some...privacy?”

The word didn’t seem to properly cover what he meant, but it was as close to the mark as he could get. Besides, if any of the others had walked in and either wanted to join them or realized what he and Aqua were doing, the plan to secretly get the information they wanted would be ruined.

“Privacy?” Scrooge frowned at them, considering the environment his restaurant offered. It was a friendly, family place, always filled with the chattering of townsfolk recognizing one another. No one went through a meal without seeing an old friend or family also there, ready to reconnect. 

He supposed that did make it hard to find privacy there.

Something to consider for his next restaurant then.

“I’m sure something of the like could be’a scrounged up round here,” he squinted back at the tables, wondering where the waiter he had scared off had gotten too, before his eyes snapped back to them. “I must say, this is completely out of the ordinary for you two, askin for privacy,” he gave them a stern look. “Ye’re always comin in a crowd, loud as can be. Where the rest of those rascals tonight?”

“Probably getting into trouble without us,” Terra smiled, folding his arms across his chest. “And really, we can’t tonight. We’re meeting with Lea and Isa, so we really can’t change our plans so suddenly. Sorry, Mr. Scrooge.”

“Those two ragabounds?” Scrooge of course, remembered them back in Radiant Garden as one of the many kids he saw running about. They would ruffle his feathers with their many antics, but they probably single handedly kept his ice cream ventures afloat (looking back at it, he should’ve wondered where they were getting that munny from). It was startling seeing them after all those years older (and much, much taller), their weathered faces signalling a change greater then just age. Although, they still bought an obscene amount of ice cream from him, so in his opinion, they were still very much the same. 

Donald had muttered something about them the last time he was on world, but he didn’t pay him any mind.

It wasn’t his place to get into the business of other people, as long as they paid fairly and were kind. 

“What are ye doin hangin with them? I don’t remember you bein particularly chummy together.”

“Trying to make new friendships,” Aqua nodded. “Just the four of us for the night, it’ll be a nice time. Maybe if it goes well, next time we’ll do it here, ok?”

Scrooge felt something itching at the back of his mind, telling him to ask more questions but instead he simply sighed. “Fine, fine. You all go have buckets of fun. But ye better come back! I put hard work into making this place the best for you lot, wouldn’t want all my hard work to go to waste! Oh and, if you have anything you want to tell me about the competition… I’m all ears.”

Both keyblade masters were uncomfortable at the idea of helping with restaurant sabotage, but agreed to tell him at the very least if they liked the food or not. He watched them walk off, shaking his head.

“Completely ridiculous. They’d have a much better date here, that’s for sure. Complete loons to believe otherwise,” he walked back towards the bistro, looking for that waiter that had hidden himself inside.

\--

Lea looked into the restaurant that Aqua and Terra had asked them to meet at, taking in the general ambience and the people eating there. It was less rowdier then he would normally choose, but he supposed they had more refined taste then him.

Although there was one detail about the place that stood out to him. Slapping his hand against his companions chest (“I’m already paying attention Lea”), he used the other to point inwards, ignoring the annoyed stares he was getting in return. “Hey doesn’t this place feel kind of… lovey dovey to you?”

Isa squinted at him before looking into the restaurant. There were quite a few couples at the tables, enjoying their time together and looking happily into one another's eyes. A few seemed awkward, undoubtedly those on first dates, and others seemed comfortable, sharing food off of each others plates. After slowly reviewing the tables of different individuals, his eyes settled on one and he gestured. “They brought children. Hardly romantic.”

“Ok, one group doesn’t change the bigger picture. C’mon Isa, lots of couples, low lighting, candles, nice...pottery.”

“Pottery.”

“What's it called when they put flowers into a pot?”

“...are you talking about a vase?”

“That's the word!” Lea snapped, grinning. “Really nice vases. Everything you need for a romantic dinner.”

“Are you suggesting that Aqua and Terra have invited us here for romantic reasons? Do you think they want to confess their love to us,” Isa’s tone was dry.

“What? No!”

“I wonder which one likes you. It can’t be Aqua, she’s too level headed. But I can’t picture Terra with someone taller then himself.”

“Isa!” Axel shoved his shoulder into his as the other man laughed, rolling his eyes. “Of course not. But there has to be a hidden reason why they chose this place in particular, and I think I’ve figured it out.”

Isa remembered his previous fears involving devious plans from Aqua, and found his forgotten feelings of dread trickle back in. “And what's that?”

“Obviously, they like to come here on dates,” Lea nodded very seriously as Isa was startled into a snort. “And since they equate this as a place where they don’t see the kiddos, they figured it be perfect when hanging out with us adults. They probably didn’t think that this is more date location then a proper hang out when inviting us,” he considered for a second. “Maybe this is actually is a date. Can two people be a third wheel on someone else’s date?”

“I hope not,” Isa snorted again, shaking his head. Lea’s ridiculous idea kicked out his feelings of unease, something he quietly appreciated. “I don’t think they’d accidentally invite us onto their date. Aqua seemed...very adamant about wanting to become spend more time with us.”

Lea put a hand to his chest. “Aw.”

“Which still leaves the theory that we’re here to receive their confessions wide open.”

“Isa!”

Lea tried to get Isa in a headlock for his words, but the other man was too used to avoiding such antics, dodging him at each attempt. It also helped that he was taller than Lea’s usual victims, able to keep above grabbing arms.

They were still having their little tussle when Aqua and Terra finally came strolling up, pausing once they were in sight to watch on in amusement. Realizing that the two men were distracted in their play fight, Terra placed a hand on Aqua’s shoulder, signalling her to be quiet as he moved to sneak up on them. She watched with a raised eyebrow and a small smirk, waiting to see how this went down.

She knew he wasn’t going to properly sneak up on them. Years of him trying to sneakily put present in hers and Ventus’ rooms on birthdays and holidays and failing spectacularly had taught her that he wasn’t up for the task of stealth. It didn’t help that his fighting style was very head on, none of the fancy twirls she used when casting magic.

It was also unfortunate for Terra, that both men had experience in noticing when someone was sneaking up on them (both from the Organization and from being around prankster friends all the time). Lea’s eyes flickered, causing Isa’s eyes to drag in the same direction before looking at his friend who grinned.

When he was just two steps away, ready to be loud and obnoxious, they striked. Lea was faster, moving and hooking one arm through his, while Isa got the other side, following along. They began walking Terra backwards towards where Aqua had started laughing at the scene of them parading along her friend as he let them in shock.

“Hey Terra! You weren’t trying anything sneaky, were you?”

His mouth was hanging open, still startled at them both descending on him in synch and managing to ruin his plans. If his mind got around his disappointment that it didn’t work, he would’ve admitted to being very impressed.

Aqua may have a point about the two of them.

“...dang.”

“Yeah, sorry bud,” Lea tapped a hand against the man’s chest, pulling them to a stop in front of the still laughing Aqua, letting Isa detangle his arm from Terra’s. “You need way more training to pull that on us.”

“I’ll keep that in mind for next time.”

“You guys were amazing,” Aqua wiped her eyes, still giggling. “How did you manage to plan that without him noticing? You just looked and then were moving!”

“When we were younger, Lea would always pull me into his schemes,” Isa had a small smile. “After awhile I learned how to catch on to what he wanted to do.”

“We were the most well known pranksters in town, it was amazing. No one could catch us.”

“Many people caught us, that's why we were well known.”

“Eh, we always got out of it,” Lea waved him off. “Anyways, glad to finally see you two. I almost thought you weren’t gonna show and Isa and I were going to have to make some kind of scene.”

“Don’t include me in these plans.”

“Well obviously we aren’t going to do it now.”

“Sorry, we ran into Mr. Scrooge and he wanted us to uh… he wanted to tell us to have a good night,” Aqua still wasn’t comfortable with restaurant sabotage. “You two didn’t seem too bored waiting for us though.”

“Isa was saying some ridiculous things that I won’t repeat,” Lea fixed Isa with a look while the other man pretended not to notice. “And Scrooge wishing us well while spending our munny someplace not Scrooge certified? Color me...doubtful.”

“You’d be right about that,” Terra had slid his arm out from Lea’s grasp, able to turn himself so he no longer had his back to everyone else. “But it wasn’t the worst thing in the world. Did make me wonder at some of the techniques he’s used to get so successful.”

“I’m sure most of his work is above board,” Isa mused.

“I’d be surprised if it wasn’t, Mickey would’ve called him out ages ago otherwise. But enough about Scrooge,” Aqua waved a hand. “Shall we go eat?”

WIth various conformations of being starving, they wandered into the restaurant. Seated immediately thanks to the reservation Terra put in, it was silent for a few minutes as they all looked over the menus. Aqua noticed Lea nearly immediately checking out the desert menu, his frown comical when he seemed to finally realize they didn’t have sea salt ice cream.

It would be fine.He could survive one night without his favorite treat.

“So,” once he determined what he would get, Lea put his menu down at the table slowly, smiling at Terra and Aqua. “Come here often?”

“Mm? Oh no, this is the first time,” Aqua tilted her menu away from her face. “We thought this would be a nice place to try with you.”

“Oh yeah? I would’ve felt this kind of place you two would go to all the time,” he smiled innocently at them, ignoring how Isa rolled his eyes besides him.

“We don’t usually go out to eat actually, and usually we’re with Ven,” Terra put down his menu, relaxing back in his chair. “And he likes hamburgers more than steaks. I think he’s still traumatized by the time Aqua made some for us once.”

“It was my first time making steak, if he tried my subsequent attempts he’d see that it can actually be good!”

Terra made a so-so gesture behind her head that Lea laughed at and Isa smirked, cueing her in to the fact that she was being teased. She quickly slapped his hand down with a dramatic gasp. “Hey! You’re supposed to be on my side!”

“I am! I’ve eaten every steak you’ve made for me and never complained.”

“Now be clear. Is it you never complained, or you’ve never complained to her face,” Lea was grinning, taking a sip of water as he watched the two.

Terra looked at Aqua where she was staring at him sternly. “I have no comment.”

“Terra!”

\--

Xion was struggling to balance the ice cream (she should’ve just sucked up and paid the 10 munny bag fee, but she was trying to save her weekly allowance) and her coin purse in her hands, counting as the ice cream seller kindly waited. Seeing someone with blonde hair sidle up next to her she shoved most of the wrapped ice cream into his arms, even jamming the one she had already opened (her addiction to sea-salt wasn’t as bad as Lea’s, but she still couldn’t help digging in as soon as possible) into his mouth.

“Hold this for a second Roxas? Thanks,” she finally finished counting, handing off the munny to the woman (who now appeared to be trying not to laugh at them) cheerfully. Finally done with the transaction, she turned to take back some of the ice cream from Roxas.

Only to realize that the blonde in question was not Roxas, and that he only had a striking semblance to him. 

“Oh! Ven I’m so sorry!” He was looking rather confused still at suddenly having ice cream shoved onto him, letting her free his arms from their weight. Carefully taking the ice cream stick out of his mouth he licked his lips.

“Salty. But sweet. Same as always?”

“Yeah, we don’t like breaking tradition. I am really sorry.”

“Eh it's ok,” he licked the ice cream stick. “I got free ice cream out of it. Although I also got free ice cream from Isa I’m supposed to deliver to you.”

“What?” She blinked, seeing that he was carrying a bag (oh so he paid the bag fee) that looked like it held more ice cream. “He didn’t tell me that!”

Although she hadn’t seen him all day, so she supposed there was no chance to tell her...still…

“Maybe he texted you?”

She blinked a few times before taking out her gummi phone, quickly scrolling through her messages. There (under her group chat with Roxas and Lea) was a single text from Isa.

 

_ Isa:  _ Left Ven with ice cream, you don’t have to buy any.

 

Well, that would’ve been nice to know before she bought some herself. She groaned while Ven smirked at her, finally responding back.

 

_ Xion:  _ asdfdsfijlasdf

_ Isa:  _ ?

 

Well, that was that. With a sigh she transferred the newly bought ice cream into Ven’s bag before taking it from him. “I guess thanks anyways. More ice cream for us. Why are you delivery boy tonight? You’re usually nowhere to be found right around now.”

“Yeah well, usually right now, me, Aqua and Terra go do some training, but since your best friend stole my best friends, I’d figure I’d steal you guys,” he nodded before looking nervous. “Is that alright?”

“No that's cool!” She nodded quickly at him, smiling. “We were going to the clocktower with Hayner, Pence, and Olette, you can come too! Maybe if we get there before them, we can work out with Roxas some way to prank them,” she was pretty sure that the three Twilight Town residents hadn’t met all of the keyblade wielders yet, and undoubtedly would freak out at seeing that their friend had doubled.

“Oh, sounds fun!” he grinned, a little hop in his step as he followed along. They chatted about the renovations as they walked to the tower, both bemoaning the fact that they missed seeing Lea and Roxas drenched from the water problem (pictures from Kairi just didn’t give enough of the full scene).

They were still chatting animatedly as they made their way into the station’s courtyard, Roxas skating around as he waited. Seeing that Xion wasn’t alone he skated over to them, making lazy loops around them.

“Hey Xion I think you got confused with which one of us is actually me.”

“Nope, I can still tell you guys perfectly apart,” She stuck her tongue out at him, spinning as he continued circling them.

“She did think I was you while she was buying ice cream,” Ven grinned, finishing off his stick and checking if he had a winner.

No luck this time.

“Hey! I was distracted ok, you can’t hold that against me,” she huffed as Roxas laughed. He knew at the end of the day that Xion was one of the few that would always be able to tell him apart from Ventus, but he still liked to tease her about it.

“My own best friend, unable to differentiate me from my double,” he slowed to a stop so he could take an ice cream from Xion’s bag, giving a sigh. “Tragic.”

“First of all, you’re more my double then I am yours, secondly, it took Terra ages to stop calling you Ven,” Ventus tossed away his losing ice cream stick, eyeing the other ice creams for a moment before plucking another for himself. 

They had an excess, he could eat two if he wanted. “I was starting to get worried for him.”

“He was actually a lot faster to figure it out then I thought he would,” Roxas took a bite, shrugging. “Guess he wanted to get on my good side fast.”

“Only cause you looked like you were going to murder him each time he got it wrong,” Xion laughed. “Which probably was one of the clues on how to differentiate between you guys.”

“Hey, I can look as scary as Roxas,” Ventus pouted while the other two laughed. “I can! I just don’t want to.”

“Listen, it's good you don’t,” Roxas put his arm around his shoulders, pulling him in. “Cause personally, I don’t want have to deal with people having even a harder time telling us a part.”

“I guess,” Ven sighed morosely. He knew Roxas still had issues with people calling him someone he wasn’t (in fact, a lot of people in their group had that issue, he just had it the worse), so he wouldn’t push it to much. “Oh, Xion said something about pranks though?”

“Oh heck yeah that's a good idea!”

They made their way up the tower, figuring out how to exactly prank the others, planning it out before they arrived. Sitting down, Ventus swung his legs, smiling at the sunset. He liked stargazing with his friends, but he could see the attraction in this.

“Hey.”

“Hm?” he turned to Xion, who wasn’t quite looking at him, frown pressed into her ice cream. It was a bit startling, the sudden shift, and he wondered what he had missed to morph her face into such a serious one.

“Do you...know why Aqua and Terra are taking Lea and Isa out?”

He blinked, glancing over at Roxas. He was still staring at the sunset, but obviously listening and waiting. Apparently something was going on that they were both in the know, but he was...pulling a blank.

“Uh...to make friends? I don’t really get it, we’re already friends, the special dinner seems unnecessary. But Aqua has a weird way doing things sometimes,” he shrugged, looking between the two. “Why...what do you think they took them out?”

Xion made a face before turning to him fully. “I mean. Yeah to make friends but also like...I think to uh….do something else.”

“...like?”

“Like… setting Lea and Isa up… as a… couple?”

Ventus leaned back, thinking about that being a reality. He thought of Aqua, and how serious she was when she had a task she wanted to finish with maximum efficiency. He thought of Terra and how he worked hard to make up for self imagined short comings. How the two of them worked together, and how when one got their mind set, the other usually followed.

“Yeah that tracks,” he took a bite of his ice cream, humming thoughtfully.

“What? How! Why aren’t you surprised!” Roxas waved his ice cream, jabbing it into the others boys face aggressively. “Why would Aqua do that! Why would Terra go along with it?”

“I mean, Aqua does a lot of little things like that. Not usually matchmaking but that's just cause we didn’t live near a lot of people. She picks up different projects that she thinks will make people happy, and then ropes me and Terra into it. I guess she didn’t ask me to help with it since she knows I might blab about it,” he considered. “If you’re so worried, why haven’t you told them?”

“Well-”

“We agreed not to,” Xion fixed Roxas with a firm look. “It's not really a bad thing that she’s trying to do this for them, even if we find it weird.”

“And it's really, really weird. Isn’t Aqua supposed to be like, the picture of maturity or something? Like a mom?”

Ventus snorted at that before out right laughing at the incredulous looks they tossed his way. “Sorry. Its kinda hard realizing that everyone looks at her definitely then me and Terra do. Like yeah, she’s super mature and serious about stuff, but that's like. When dealing with her duties as a Master and keyblade wielder. Which takes up most of her time yeah, but the rest of the time she lets loose.”

Xion wrinkled her nose. “And matchmaking is one of the ways she...lets loose?”

“Kinda? I don’t think I’m explaining this right,” Ven put his hand to his chin, leaning into an exaggerated thinking pose for a few moments. The other two meanwhile finished their ice cream, comparing to see if either of them got a winners stick.

“Ah ok. Aqua is only really serious about what she considers her duties. And she thinks it's one of her duties to ensure that her friends are happy and safe. So she goes a little overboard into ensuring that, but those kind of projects also let her not be so serious and relax a bit,” he looked at them. “Does that make sense?”

The two looked at each other before shrugging.

“Not completely, but you’re closer to her then we are,” Roxas leaned back, putting his heads behind his head as he laid down, unconsciously copying what Lea would do after a few hours on the tower. “It's still weird that Aqua would decide to...matchmake. Especially them.”

“Yeah but...it's kind of nice thinking that Aqua enjoys just...making the rest of us happy, in whatever way possible,” Xion smiled, nudging Ventus. “She’s really cool.”

He smiled widely before nodding. “Yup, she is! And so is Terra, they’re great.”

They all sat in silence, Ventus watching the courtyard below for when the other three would arrive so they would have time to get in position for the prank.

“So are Aqua and Terra dating, or…?”

“...seriously?”

\--

_ Lea:  _ So I don’t think they know they’re dating

 

Isa did his best to not be obvious as he checked the text from the man sitting right next to him. Rolling his eyes discreetly he wiped his mouth with his napkin before eyeing the other two, carefully evaluating their actions through the night.

Both Aqua and Terra were perfectly nice and doing their best to keep the conversation flowing. They talked about the mansion, about Roxas and Xion, about Ventus, about adopting dogs, all manner of things that would interest their group. If a lull came into the conversation, Terra would mention something he had seen on another world recently. If someone didn’t know how to respond, Aqua would be ready to pick up the topic and move on.

It was all very nice despite the awkwardness underlying everything, as they still weren’t all comfortable enough to really open up. Or at least that was just him. For the most part he relied on Lea to answer, while Aqua and Terra kept working to chip apart at their distance.

Being able to observe for the most part, he could see how they were so incredibly in sync that it was uncanny. Isa idly wondered how they were when they sparred, undoubtedly knowing each others fighting style well enough that they’d be at a stalemate for a ridiculously long time.

It was also becoming slowly clearer, that while they were most certainly not dating, they acted as if they were.

Slipping his phone away and kicking Lea to not text at the table, he consider their behavior towards one another. They did plenty of things that would make him think they were a couple, from seeming to know what the other was thinking from just a look to catching them staring at the other for no good reason but to look. Even before tonight he had assumed they were a couple, noting the soft touches they gave to each other's arms, backs, and shoulders, the way Terra bent himself towards her always and the way Aqua visibly brightened when he entered the room.

But listening to them now, he realized he was completely off mark.

“Oh we’ve always been friends, I don’t think that’ll ever change,” Aqua remarked while letting Terra try something off her plate.

“Having Aqua as one of my best friends has taught me a lot more about dancing then I’d thought I’d learn as a kid,” Terra smiled, buttering a slice of bread and handing it to her.

They kept using the word friend, over and over, to refer to one another, to the point that Isa was beginning to think it was an unconscious deflection tactic. 

It was surprising that two of the smartest people he knew could be so oblivious to what was right in front of them.

“Is everything alright Isa?” his eyes snapped to Aqua’s searching blue eyes, realizing with a start he had staring into thin air for awhile. “You haven’t been talking much.”

“Oh yes, fine,” he gave one jerky nod, ignoring the way Lea leaned forward to look over his face. “My apologies.”

“Don’t apologize, just making sure you’re enjoying yourself is all,” she smiled gently at him.

If he hadn’t been spending so much time around some of the kindest children in existence, her own kindness would have been boggling.

“I am. Thank you again for the invitation, Master Aqua.”

“You seriously still not dropping the Master part huh,” Lea put his elbows on the table, smirking. “I don’t think anyone calls her that but you. Uh, no offense Aqua.”

She shrugged with a smile, but Terra swooped in. “She’s really taken to the title though. You should come and visit the Land of Departure once remodelling here is done, she’s probably one of the best stewards.”

“Only because you and Ven have been helping me so much,” she waved off his compliments with a smile. “Its a joint effort.”

Not to mention the fact that she still wasn’t certain if she really was the steward or not (and if she really wanted to take on such a role). While she was able to shift and change the very makeup of the world, she would prefer to keep the Master’s Defender at Master Eraqus’ grave. She also couldn’t imagine staying in one place for so long, to avoid seeing a thousand lights after being in the dark so long. She did return regularly, usually accompanied by Terra and Ven, to check that the world was still safe and its wards were strong, and probably once things were done in Twilight Town the three of them would end up spending most of their time there.

She quietly pondered if she and her friends could all work together to tend to the world, to lean on one another and ensure that they could all live lives they wanted. It was a nice thought to dream for.

“But you don’t have to call me Master, Aqua’s just fine,” she looked at Isa seriously. 

He shifted uneasily in his seat. “I don’t want to be… disrespectful.”

“And yet you manage to be disrespectful to me all the time,” Lea mumbled, earning a shove to his head. “Hey!”

“We’re friends, Isa,” he could appreciate how easily Aqua disregarded his and Lea’s antics. “I’d actually like it better if you did just call me Aqua.”

He was still for a few moments, and he could feel the tense energy in the air, for the first time an actual silence descending over the table. And it was all his fault, something that made him want to offer more useless apologies. Aqua’s eyes never left his face, unwavering in his hesitation, and he wondered what it was like being so certain and unafraid. Terra’s silence was heavier as he drummed two fingers against the table, his other hand covering his mouth as unknowable thoughts danced through his head.

Lea meanwhile was playing with his unused spoon, spinning it on top of the table and pretending he wasn’t watching. Despite wishing the attention would snap back to him, Isa appreciated that his way of offering support was to stay near but wait for him to give a signal for anything more. Lea was only present in his struggles with interacting in this new life as a backup plan, not to dictate how he should choose to interact with the worlds. 

(Except when he decided to get an apartment on his own, but that was an issue for another day).

“Ok...Aqua,” feeling a bit of boldness trickle in, he turned to Terra with a very serious expression. “Does she always pull the friend card to get people to do what she wants… Master Terra?”

He cracks a grin (that doesn’t reach his eyes but how could Isa properly identify that look), glancing at the pouting Aqua. “Only when she really wants something. And you also can just...just Terra is fine.”

“Aqua and Terra,” Isa repeated slowly. “I suppose your names sound friendlier that way.”

“They do,” Aqua was firm about this, putting her enlaced fingers under her chin. “But let's talk about something else besides our names, we hear them all the time!”

Isa gave a small smile at her while Lea leaned into Terra, whispering dramatically “Was that a joke?” before making a face as Aqua froze over his water glass.

“Enough about us for now,” Aqua marched on, a peculiar look in her eye (anyone looking at Terra would notice him hastily taking a drink of water to hide behind). “What about you two? What are you going to do here once everything is all settled?”

Both Lea and Isa had noticed earlier on that she avoided as much as possible asking questions about the past currently, something that had steadily relaxed them. Even the good from when they were younger wasn’t something easily talked about, as it all lead up to the eventual bad.

“I’m gonna be hopping between here and the Mysterious Tower,” Lea waved his hand. “Something something, I’m not to great with a keyblade, something something. Probably if things keep quiet I’ll also have to find a job eventually which will be… annoying.”

“Finding a job can’t be too hard,” Terra said, as someone who never considered getting a typical job.

“Yeah but I don’t have the normal 9-5 job skills,” he pointed out. “It’ll be a hassle to figure out.”

“I guess,” Terra rubbed his chin, trying to think of other options for Lea, but Aqua was once again barreling ahead.

“What about you Isa?” Aqua looked at him, the curious glint in her eye still bright and piercing. “What are your plans once the mansion’s done?”

He really could do without all eyes on him constantly. “Just...stay in Twilight Town really,” he gave an uncomfortable shrug. “Maybe return to Radiant Garden occasionally.”

It was startling clear that he hadn’t put much to the future. It was hard to when it was only just recently he realized he had a future to think about, and was still feeling out where he belonged.

“And get an apartment far away from your very best friend,” Lea lifted his head in the air with a sniff. “Don’t forget that part of your plans.”

“You don’t know where it's going to be yet. I’m still going to be close,” he rolled his eyes, not really wanting to argue with him in front of others tonight about the issue.

“Why do you want to get an apartment?” Terra leaned forward, honest curiosity filling his eyes. It made Isa feel a twinge of guilt, knowing that he wasn’t going to answer his question honestly.

He had several reasons why he wanted get an apartment, but if he still didn’t feel like saying them to Lea, he was definitely not going to say it to them, no matter how nice they were. “I just like the idea of my own space.”

Lea frowned, putting a hand to his chin as he leaned against the table, still obviously sore about the whole thing. But Isa was certain that nothing would change his mind on getting an apartment in town instead of the mansion.

His reasoning behind it was too stubborn to be swayed.

“Well, if you need help moving, you know who to ask,” Aqua smiled.  “And if the two of you aren’t too busy after the mansion is finished, maybe you can come to the Land of Departure for a bit. Xion and Roxas are invited too.”

“I appreciate it.”

“Ven says that place is just a bunch of floating mountains, so I feel like if I go someone is gonna end up shoving me off,” Lea smirk was lacking its normal warmth, taking awhile to heat up after the cold disappointment of Isa’s words.

“You manage to survive sitting on the clocktower weekly. You won’t be pushed off.”

“Yeah but. There are witnesses there.”

Their laughter hid Aqua glancing back over to Isa, who was watching Lea with a troubled expression. She could tell, that he wasn’t explaining the full picture, that there was some reason he didn’t want to live in the same place as his friend.

She just needed to see if those reasons lined up with her belief that their feelings were the same.

\--

“I can’t believe you forgot that I’ve already met Ventus,” Hayner scoffed, chomping into his ice cream. “Heck, Ventus I can’t believe you forgot me! We met at that beach party! You nearly destroyed our sand sculpture!”

The three keyblade wielders sat glumly under his scrutiny, feeling rather silly for forgetting that detail. Hayner, Pence, and Olette’s visit to the Destiny Islands to celebrate with the rest of them had been a special case, as they typically weren’t allowed to take anyone off world. They even avoided telling Yen Sid about it (although he probably already knew), just in case he would go into a long monologue about the sanctity of world order. But considering the three already knew plenty thanks to everything they had experienced in the past year, no order was shaken up too much when they left for the party. The keyblade wielders though made sure that it was all covered up so they wouldn’t cause any problems with this moment of ignoring rules.

Apparently, they had been working so hard to keep quiet about it, they had just straight up forgotten about it, leading to an awkward attempt at pranking their friends. The three had simply greeted Ventus in confusion when they stumbled into the prank, uncertain why their friends were trying to make them believe that Roxas had doubled.

It was very disappointing.

“Sorry,” Ventus nibbled at his ice cream. “I was just excited to try the prank I guess.”

“It would’ve worked if you had forgotten about him,” Roxas grumbled.

“Hey, my memory’s great. I even remembered you when only my data version met you, you know my memories great!” 

It was true, though Hayner, Pence and Olette couldn’t explain why their data versions memories impacted them so heavily. They expected to become friends with him once they had officially met, but found that they all fell into sync so easily that they were catapulted quickly into best friend territory. 

Roxas was aware that really, Xion and Lea were his ultimate best friends, but he was fine with always making more.

“We could probably reuse the prank on Seifer,” Pence had a hand to his chin, thinking it through. “He’s probably never seen Ven around town yet. I think he would freak knowing you have a twin Roxas.”

“We’re not twins,” He huffed, rolling his eyes, but the thought of having the prank actually work on someone else did lift his spirits.

“Maybe both of you guys could enter the Struggle tournament!” Olette bounced in her seat, drawing the worried glances of her friends as they watched her balance. “He’d be so confused, probably think he’s seeing double!”

“I’m not entering this year though,” Roxas shrugged at their yells of shock, brushing them off. “What? I wanna root for Xion.”

“You’re entering?” Hayner stared at her, blinking. The Twilight Town trio had become just as close to Xion as they had Roxas, happily adding another friend to their circle. They still didn’t understand the full picture of her existence, but also didn’t care.

She was their friend, and that's what really mattered to them.

“Yep,” she straightened, beaming proudly. “It sounds really fun, so I wanna try it out. And, Roxas and Axel said they’d be my cheerleaders, so that's why Roxas can’t enter.”

The Twilight Town trio looked at each other, trying to imagine Roxas (their good friend who would give anyone who annoyed him a death glare) and Lea (who did kidnap Kairi right in front of them) being cheerleaders.

They burst out laughing while Roxas rolled his eyes (“I hope you know we’re not going to dress up for this”). Ventus soon joined in while Xion giggled, nudging Roxas to stop pouting. 

“It’ll be great. I’m expecting to go deaf from their yells.”

“It’ll be real easy if Isa would just agree to also join in,” Roxas grumbled. “He keeps saying that he’ll bring snacks, but that's not the same thing.”

“He’s just shy,” Xion waved it away. “I’m ok with him not being a cheerleader. I think if he did though, he’d turn the same color as Axel’s hair.”

“Which is why he should do it! Oh, hey maybe since we can’t join the Struggle tournament, Ven you can also cheer with us! Two cheerleading Roxas’ would definitely put Seifer off his game.”

Ven considered. “Would that be considered cheating, like distracting the competition?”

“Not when its Seifer!” Hayner was very adamant about this point. “And not that we need it to beat him anyways! Xion you’re gonna take him down!”

“If it's really not cheating, then sure. Aqua would never let me hear the end of it if I made the competition unfair or something.”

“Oh!” Xion jumped up, startling the others who all grabbed onto the tower’s ledge to stay steady. “You never answered us! Are they dating or not?”

“What? Whose dating?” Pence looked at Roxas. “Are...are you dating?”

“What part of this conversation makes you think Xion would ask Ven that?”

“You look like the kind of guy that would have a secret relationship.”

“That means I look like that too!” Ven grinned.

“Nah you look too nice to keep it a secret.”

“We have the same face!”

“I’m not asking about Roxas, its Aqua and Terra,” Xion waved a hand to stop them from going any further. “I guess you guys met them also at the party, they were the really pretty woman and the buff guy.”

“Ohh. Why’s that even a question?” Olette made a face. “It's obvious that they are.”

“How would you know?” Hayner waved his ice cream stick at her, squinting. “You didn’t even talk to them.”

“I just do. You wouldn’t get it.”

“I would to!”

“Guys!” Pence interrupted. “Let Ven speak! Although Olette’s right they totally are dating.”

“What! Not you too man!”

“Actually,” Ventus drew each syllable out of the word, giving everyone time to direct their attention back to him. “Aqua and Terra...aren’t dating.”

“What?”

“No!”

“But they look so nice together!”

“Why aren’t they,” Xion leaned in close to Ventus. “Don’t they like each other?”

“I mean, yeah, they do,” Ven shrugged. “But I don’t think they realize that they like each other. They’ve always been weirdly romantic but never touched on the idea of ever dating. Its been driving me crazy for years.”

“They do look so romantic,” Olette put her hands together pressed against her cheek, sighing. “When we met them on the beach I thought they were the perfect couple.”

“I still don’t get how you noticed so much about them,” Hayner squinted at his friend.

“Why haven’t you done anything to let them know?” Pence spun his finished ice cream stick (no winner), thinking. “You’re their best friend yeah?”

“Yeah and that's why I’m not,” Ven sniffed. “It would be weird, and the few times I asked about it they both got very embarrassed and denied it hard. Besides, I don’t wanna get them together and then be responsible for them being even more sappy.”

“Hey! That's why she’s trying to get Axel and Isa together!” Roxas pointed dramatically with a gasp. “Its cause she refuses to deal with what's going on between her and Terra!!”

“...she doesn’t know that there’s anything between her and Terra though.”

“No no,” Pence tapped his chin. “Roxas is right. She’s projecting her frustrations of never getting into a relationship with Terra, and not working through these emotions with them. By ensuring that Axel and Isa get together, she will understand her true power and be able to finally confront her feelings and force herself and Terra to confront the love they held all along.”

They all stared at him for a beat.

“That's...probably not it,” Ventus made a face.

“I’m unappreciated for my mind.”

“Really, I don’t think it is,” Ventus sighed. “As annoying as it is that they don’t just admit to it, I don’t think them trying to pair up Lea and Isa has anything to do with it. That's just Aqua being Aqua.”

“And Aqua being Aqua is her being in love with Terra,” Xion smirked, letting out a giggle at the face Ventus tossed back at her. “Face it Ven, even if it's not as crazy as what Pence just said,there’s something there about the fact that they won’t admit to their feelings but want Axel and Isa to get together. Maybe this whole matchmaking thing will end up with your best friends together instead.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Having characters sit down and actually try and get to know one another is weird and awkward and I think the two couples feel that as well. Even though figuring out how to get 6 characters talking in one scene was a struggle, I had a lot of fun giving Ven and the Twilight Town trio a chance to shine.
> 
> Also I'm excited about the DLC news that just came out, makes sense that they'd want to start teasing it since critical mode is released. Now just to wait for some details on what its gonna actually be and when we can expect it!


	4. Chapter 4

Lea and Aqua stared each other down, their gazes unwavering. Both were posed to strike, as they held their chosen weapons carefully up, not wanting to even give off the smallest twitch. At any movement from the other, they would have to finally react, to beat the other to the punch and win the fight. And it was of the utmost importance that they triumphed over each other, unsure how they would be able to move on if they didn’t.

They were both silent in their concentration. Even the air seemed to be holding its breath with them.

With the smallest twitch of his eye, Lea lunged, trying to make first contact. He had to get there before Aqua, but even with his headstart he was still too slow. She jammed her hand against his, pushing him off course and making him fumble right as she stabbed down. Yanking back her hand, she pulled with her the prize, grinning in her success.

“No!” Lea wailed, watching in horror as she popped the last bite of brownie into her mouth. He slammed his head dramatically to the table, giving an exaggerated groan. “I was so close! That was meant to be mine!”

“You didn’t want it in the first place! You said that whichever desert we got didn’t matter, because it wouldn’t be sea salt ice cream and you wouldn’t have any,” Aqua smirked. “I definitely deserved it more.”

Isa and Terra sat quietly to the side, taking in the scene as their best friends argued animatedly about who really deserved the last bite of the groups shared desert. Both were trying to hide their laughter, amusement and fondness filling their hearts as they watched. Isa hid his smile behind a cup of coffee (probably a bad idea for the time of night), while Terra began to work out how to send the video of their brownie fight to Ventus.

He was stuck struggling with the gummi phone. Attachments wasn’t something he had tried before with the device, and frankly that knowledge was still above his skill level with it.

Why didn’t it come with an instruction manual? Or was there one and he just wasn’t able to access it?

Sliding his eyes from Lea and Aqua, who were still in the throes of their play fight (“Order another desert and we’ll have a rematch.” “We can’t eat TWO deserts Lea!”), Isa watched as Terra’s face slowly slid into a concentrated frown. He seemed to be trapped in the different menus on his phone, lost in a never ending loop of uncertainty. Waiting for one heartbeat, two, Isa finally sighed before putting down his cup, shifting his body to point towards him.

“Do you require some- Need some help?” He mentally frowned at the slip of his tongue. He didn’t have to be so formal, so stiff with his words, not anymore. Why couldn’t his mouth catch up already with that truth.

He pointed at the gummi phone when Terra looked up, dismissing his thoughts. “I’ve a pretty good grasp on its functions, I can probably direct you in the right way.”

The other man look relieved, giving Isa a quick nod. Grabbing the back of his chair, he pulled it next to Isa, startling him as he shifted closer. Noting his surprise, Terra shrugged sheepishly at him. “Maybe if I watch I’ll be remember it for next time. If you don’t mind.”

“Of course.”

Taking the gummi phone from Terra gingerly, the only words traded between them was Isa asking what exactly he was sending and to whom. He never was a good teacher, preferring to just do then have to wait for someone else to catch up to him. His refusal to give instructions also probably had something to do with it. But, with the way Terra kept his eyes fixed onto the phone, the sharp look in his eyes, Isa could imagine that even with his lack of guidance, Terra would understand how to do it on his own next time.

“How are you holding up?”

He managed to hold in the flinch at Terra’s soft words, not expecting more conversation, and his eyes flickered to match his. He refused to let his face show any signs of unease as he slowly lowered the phone so he could focus on the words, although they confused him. Was it a general question, or was it really only about him?

Looking over at Lea and Aqua, who were struggling over whether they should call over a waiter or not, he saw they were definitely not a part of their conversation. So something in his actions had made Terra feel it was necessary to ask. Swallowing down his feelings he looked back at the younger man, holding in a frown.

“With...what?”

“With… well I guess with right now? This night?” Terra gave him a smile (one he had seen before being directed towards a pouting Ventus), shrugging as if the action would comfort the blow of his words. “Just making sure you’re not feeling too overwhelmed or anything like that.”

“Oh,” someone really was going to have to shake all these keyblade wielders and their inability to not be kind. It was terrifying. It was also sending alarm bells, ringing through his mind at whatever Terra could’ve seen in him to warrant such kindness. “Its fine. I’m used to louder environments, thanks to Lea and the others.”

“Yeah but, I feel like in a smaller group it's a bit more nerve wracking. More attention on you, more worries,” he gave Isa a searching look. “Or maybe I’m wrong?”

Isa was suddenly filled with a mixture of dread and anger, the urge to grab Terra and shake him till he told him what he was thinking. Dread, at the idea that something in his actions was so obvious that even a complete stranger could see it. Anger that it was Terra who felt the need to willingly put himself out there to ask him what was going on, that he felt it was necessary. He wanted to know what Terra saw when he looked at him;  was it pity,  _ guilt, _ or something else as he watched him?

Was it the part of him that was Xemnas? Were his questions influenced by what he knew of  Sa ïx, not Isa?

This dinner was probably the longest the two of them had been in each other’s presence, but Isa realized that the kind man in front of him could possibly not be a complete stranger. He could know an uncomfortable amount about himself.

“Its...fine,” he managed to push the words out, finishing his work with the phone and all but shoving it back into his hands. “There, all sent.” He tried to make it obvious that he wasn’t breathing heavier, trying to rationalize the anger out of him.

Terra was a kind man, that was it. This had nothing to do with Isa’s deeper anxieties. His questions were like Aqua’s, one’s of friendship and care.

That was it. There was nothing more.

(Why couldn’t it feel like when Lea reached out in concern?)

“Ah, thanks,” Terra took the phone back, checking it out and smiling at the video being successfully sent. Giving a side glance at Isa, who took a sip of his coffee to calm his nerves, he leaned back in his chair, considering something only he could see. Clearing his throat, he ran a hand through his hair, psyching himself up for something. “Hey…”

Isa pulled his eyes back to him, tilting his head to indicate he was listening.

(He would not be rude. He would not.)

“Do you-”

“Isa!” Lea was suddenly there, bright and warm and engulfing his sight with red. Grabbing onto his friends shoulder (causing both men to flinch) he forcibly yanked them back into their shared reality. “You gotta help me convince Aqua we need to get another brownie ice cream, she won’t budge!”

“Brownie ice cream?” Isa took a moment to process his words, his mind peeling back too slowly the concerns of his previous conversation. Glancing at Aqua who was vehemently shaking her head no, he quickly picked up that he probably shouldn’t help Lea with this one venture. “Why?”

“Dang, were you really not paying attention? I have to fight for my honor but she won’t let me! You have to help me end her reign of terror, I’m recruiting you to the cause. Got it memorized?”

“I don’t think another desert will stop her,” he could see out of the corner of his eye Terra shifting his seat back into place next to Aqua. “She’ll probably just beat you again.”

“I can’t believe this. I can’t believe my own best friend doesn’t believe in my ice cream eating abilities,” Lea groaned, collapsing back in his chair. “This is the worst.”

“Next time we go out to eat, you can try beating me then,” Aqua laughed, a hand unconsciously reaching out to steady Terra once he was settled back in. 

Isa raised an eyebrow at her words, letting her movements fade into background noise to his thoughts. When had she decided that there would be a repeat of this night, what had made it apparent to her that they would all enjoy spending time together again.

While they were both nice, he still couldn’t shave off his nerves completely. Spending more time together meant opening up more chances for uncomfortable conversations. He could avoid them for only so long.

Although of course, should he avoid them? He couldn’t quite say, his mind saying he should while his heart pressing hard to wait and see.

“I guess I’m gonna have to start practicing for the rematch,” Lea sighed, tilting his chair back as he rubbed the back of his head. He looked at Isa with a grin, making him smile back fondly. “Wanna help? We can get Roxas and Xion in on it too.”

“I already buy you three more ice cream then you should have. I will not help in making your addiction worse.”

“It won’t be sea-salt! We’ll be fine, variety is good for you.”

“Definitely not how this works.”

While he and Lea argued about eating different kinds of ice cream and addictions, Isa watched Terra out of the corner of his eye. He had turned to Aqua, gesturing to his phone while smiling, but something was off. His eyes kept wandering, and it took him a moment to realize he was looking at himself and Lea. Was he still worried that he wasn’t comfortable sitting here with them? Was he worried Lea was uncomfortable as well?

What did exist in the kind mind of Master Terra?

Isa did not feel like a kind man. He hadn’t since he lost his heart the first time. Not now when he was surrounded by all of these kind people who took to it as easy as breathing. 

But he was trying.

For Xion, and Roxas, who deserved all the effort he could give them.

For Lea...who made it look easy.

He supposed, a step in growing his kindness was to wait for Terra to finally say whatever it is that made him look at the two of them in such a way.

He could keep having dinner with them. Until whatever questions it was was asked. Besides, he would have Lea, and that would make it all worth it.

\--

Sora’s sleeping schedule was well known by everyone to be basically nonexistent. It had something to do with constant world hopping and being asleep for a full year that messed with his sense of time. He would suddenly feel like sleeping during the day, or stay up into the early hours of the morning before finally passing out. He and Ven were often found napping together, becoming napping partners (usually at the most inopportune times). Being in Twilight Town didn’t help matters much, the constantly setting sun making it harder for his body to know when he actually needed sleep or not.

So feeling sleepy at 8pm for once actually felt like an accomplishment. 

He wandered into his shared room in the bed and breakfast, quickly flopping down onto his still unmade bed with a yawn. Each room in the establishment had one bunk bed and one twin, but despite his insistence that he wanted to sleep in the top bunk, both Kairi and Riku had refused. He had been forced to take the twin bed instead.

“Sorry Sora, but you move around a lot in your sleep. I’m kinda worried that you’ll fall out,” Kairi had given him a soft, reassuring smile as she patted his back.

“And the sound of you vibrating this old thing all night is not something I want to deal with,” Riku put his hand to the bunk bed, putting a little pressure on one of its beams so it could let out a squeal. His smile was teasing, a look that made Sora both happy to see and ready to groan at his best friends.

It was completely unfair and ruined all the fun he could have had with a bunk bed.

But he supposed, as he let his body fall deeper into the bed, he couldn’t as easily just flop into sleep if he had the top bunk. He could just slip into sleep and not deal with the world for a full night...finally rested…

“SORA!”

He jumped off his bed, landing on the floor in a flurry of limbs and blankets. He stared in wide eyed terror as the door banged open, his keyblade already in hand, ready for whatever horror was about to descend upon him.

The horror was Xion, one arm outstretched on the door, keeping it open with far more force than necessary. Her eyes were far too bright and she sported a manic grin as she looked at him. “Hey! Come and hang out with us, why are you hiding in here?!”

“Xion?” he squinted at the girl, thrown by how loudly she was speaking. “What's going on?”

“Nothing! We just wanna hang out together,” she hurried over, grabbing his arm and pulling him bodily to his feet. She didn’t let go even after he was at his full height, and he was beginning to get the feeling that escape wouldn’t be easy. “Also we had like. Three ice cream each tonight and I think it might be hitting us.”

Oh no.

“Who did you have three-”

“You’ll see!” Still holding onto him, she yanked him from the room (and the comfort of rest), heading towards the kitchen. They were allowed to use it and all the cooking utensils during their stay, but usually most of them could only be found there during breakfast and if whoever was in charge of dinner felt like cooking that night. Tonight though, both Roxas, Ventus, Kairi and  Namin é were situated inside, in various levels of excitement. Roxas and Ventus appeared to be in the same state as Xion, arms and legs never stopping for a moment as they moved back and forth in some kind of grand presentation of words.

It sounded like it had to do with some kind of prank. All Sora could tell was they kept saying Seifer’s name and something about matching clothes.

Namin é was perched on the kitchen counter, sketchbook closed on her lap, seemingly fine as both boys talked over one another. Occasionally she asked a question and one of them would break off to explain, although Sora had no idea how she understood any of it. Kairi meanwhile appeared more wary of the boys, unlike her other half. At some point she had gotten a pot lid to defend herself from their excited arm movements. Whenever Roxas or Ventus looked like they would get too close, she would lift it up cautiously, as if she was going to do a Goofy impression and bash them away.

They were definitely going through some kind of sugar rush, and Sora felt kind of jealous that he hadn’t been invited to join in (despite the fact he was trying to sleep moments before).

“You know,” he tried to pull Xion’s grip off his arm, but it ended up more he just was pulling the two of them around the room. She slid in her socks, laughing at his attempts. “I get Ven having a sugar rush from that much ice cream, but you two? You have to be immune to the effects by now.”

“Three ice creams, all at once Sora,” Roxas quickly made his way across the kitchen floor, grabbing onto his shoulders. Sora realized now that his tongue was dyed a vivid blue. “The ultimate ice cream experience.”

“Yeah?”

“I can feel my teeth buzzing.”

“That's the sugar rotting them” Kairi called out behind her makeshift shield. “I kind of blame this on Axel not being there, but he probably would do the same.”

“But he wouldn’t go through the same symptoms,”  Namin é handed over her sketchbook to Ventus (“Lemme draw you for once!”), smiling. “He’s too tall, it would take more to hit his system.”

“I know right!” Roxas spun dramatically back to her, catapulting his way over the kitchen table instead of walking around it. Sora and Kairi both looked quickly for the owner (she was nice but not so nice to ignore that), while  Namin é just giggled. “The old coat hid it! But now you can’t avoid the fact that he’s a giant! And he’s always wearing shoes with at least an extra inch on them!”

“Yeah!” Xion finally released Sora (he rubbed his arm, wondering if he’d have a bruise in the shape of her hand), rushing over to Roxas and taking his hands. They began spinning each other around, probably a bad idea with all the ice cream in them. “It's super unfair, I always have to look up miles to talk to him! I think he does it on purpose!”

“He definitely does it on purpose!”

“We should do something about it,” Ven grabbed onto both of the spinning pairs shoulders, leaving behind whatever doodle he started with  Namin é,  stopping them as he leaned into the pair. “He can’t be allowed to continue with his tall tyranny.”

“Yeah! Get rid of his shoes!”

“Take out his ankles!”

“Oh dear,”  Namin é was still smiling, not seeming too worried about the fate being planned for Lea.

“Ok before you guys decide that like. Chopping off Axel’s legs is a good decision,” Kairi ignored the momentary glee in Roxas’ eyes at her words. “Why don’t you guys like. Sit down for a moment and breathe.”

“...no,” Roxas lifted up his chin at Kairi, defiant in the rush of energy he had right now. It was definitely getting to his head, but he was pretty sure no one could stop him in this room.

He was high on his own sugar fueled power.

“...ok. Sora?” She looked at him, and he jumped. “Any ideas?”

“Uh I,” he looked around the room, trying to figure out what to do. Despite the fact that all three of them had lived in his heart for a long time, that didn’t mean he necessarily knew how best to handle them. Especially not in the face of a full on sugar rush. He once again wished he was on the other side, not having to deal with very excited keyblade wielders and instead being one of said excited keyblade wielders.

It would also have helped with the fact that he was still sleepy and needed something to get himself going if he was going to help out Kairi with the dilemma. Was it a dilemma? Would it be too bad if Roxas lead them to destruction?

...that definitely was the sleep fatigue talking. He should help Kairi.

“What if…” he dragged out each word, trying to buy himself time as he figured out what his plan was. “All six of us… we could go outside and...race?”

“Race?”

“Yeah like. Running. With our feet.”

The three were still for a moment, which frankly scared Kairi and Sora ( Namin é still seemed fine with everything going on). But what scared them more was when Roxas nudged Xion who nodded, leaning in and whispering to Ventus’s ear. All three of them began to smile together (Roxas and Ventus had never looked more alike) as they turned back to the others.

“Yeah, that sounds fun. But let's make a rule...that magic’s allowed.”

Kairi made a face while  Namin é giggled. Sora wondered if he could get some ice cream right now and be on the side that was obviously having the most amount of fun right now.

“We are so gonna get in trouble.”

\--

“Well,” Terra looked back at the restaurant, scratching his jaw. “I don’t know if we’re going back there.”

“What?” Aqua blinked at him, startled at his words. “Why not? Did you not like the food?”

“No, the food was fine, but uh… I don’t think they liked how loud we got near the end.”

Lea was leading the group, walking backwards so he could see them all (“Is that safe?” “Isa will grab me if I’m going to run into something.” “No I won’t.”) and he gave a laugh. “Terra’s right, we definitely won’t be welcome back. Well actually, I think to be more precise, you and I won’t be, Aqua.

“Us?” She gasped, not used to the idea that she wouldn’t be welcome anywhere. She was a good person who people liked, it made no sense. “What did we do?”

“Would you like the list numerical, or alphabetized,” Isa spoke dryly behind his jacket’s collar, hiding his face from the chill.

Aqua spluttered at the idea of their being a list of reasons why she wouldn’t be welcomed back to a place while Terra laughed.

They hadn’t done really anything that was too terrible, but they had gotten some uncomfortable stares that would lead to people remembering them if there was a next time. Between the arguing over getting another desert (they did not despite Lea’s cry of anguish), then arguing over who would pay the bill (Isa did, but only when everyone wasn’t paying attention, so that argument was still ongoing), they had made a large enough commotion that their waiter (and other onlookers) seemed relieved to see them go.

“On the plus side, Mr. Scrooge will be glad we’re not going back,” Terra pointed out.

“Please don’t remind me of that,” Aqua groaned, putting a hand to her head. “I’m still worried about what he’s going to ask us next time we see him. Restaurant sabotage is… not good.”

“Not if you get away with it,” Lea hummed, laughing off the glare Aqua sent his way.

“Obviously Mr. Scrooge asked the wrong people to help him out here,” Terra shook his head.

They chatted as they made their way through the streets of Twilight Town, none of them in a hurry to get back. Terra wasn’t sure when, but with a start he realized that he and Lea were walking in step with one another. The red headed man didn’t seem to notice (or was purposely ignoring it) as he complained about not having a jacket to Isa (“I’m not giving you mine Lea.”).

Out of all of them, he seemed the most relaxed during the night. Maybe it was just because of his personality, but Terra could appreciate the ease he moved through life.

“Oh!” Aqua jumped, putting her hands together. “I just remembered! I was supposed to pick up a package from the post office on the way back!”

“Isn’t that place closed right now?” Lea squinted upwards, as if a sunset could tell him what time it was right now. “No one will be there to let you in and I was told using our keyblades for breaking and entering is bad.”

“Breaking and entering is bad in general Lea.”

“I know that. But everyone was so worried for some reason that they told me that ten times.”

“They said I could come in after hours,” Aqua turned to Isa, who gave a start at her sudden attention. “Do you think you could come with me Isa? It's supposed to be pretty heavy, it's those new sink and shower parts we ordered. I don’t think I can carry it back all by myself.”

If Terra wasn’t in on the plan, he would’ve started laughing right then and there. Aqua would no doubt be able to carry whatever it was waiting at the post office (how had she convinced them to stay open for her? Was it really new parts waiting or was it a box of rocks she planted herself?), she was far too strong to worry about needing health. Just the other week she had picked up both him and Ventus at the same time, much to their shared amusement. She needed a lot of strength to pull off her fancy combos after all.

He knew the real reason behind asking Isa to go with her was that she wanted to bug him about his feelings towards Lea. It was a back up plan, if the dinner didn’t reveal if he did or not naturally, one they agreed probably wouldn’t be the worst way to get the answer out of him.

It also had a low chance of going wrong.

“Why don’t we all go, just in case?”

Although Lea offering his help would put a bit of a hamper on the whole thing. There was no way Isa would admit to whatever hidden feelings he had if said subject of hidden feelings was present.

Aqua momentarily looked panicked at the idea of having to turn down Lea’s polite offer, her blue eye dulls as she struggled with a response. Terra quickly swooped in, hoping he could distract both men from the oddity of Aqua splitting them up like this.

“We should probably get back and make sure the kids aren’t rioting,” he let out a forced laugh, putting a hand on Lea’s shoulder. “Ven said something about hanging out with the others since we were abandoning him for the night, I’m sure their revolution is already underway.”

“And I really do need only one more set of hands to get this,” Aqua nodded. “Really, you two go on ahead.”

“Are you sure?” Lea looked suspiciously at Aqua. “I mean, I could be more help then Isa here.”

“Do you not believe in me?”

“I believe in you plenty Isa,” He grinned at his friend. “But I bet I could be more helpful than you.”

Isa scoffed, but he was smiling back. “Of course you would be.”

“You might be Lea, but I think Isa is my best choice,” Aqua nodded. “After all, he’s much stronger than you.”

Isa let out a surprised laugh while Lea’s expression froze on his face.

“Wh… I’m just as strong as him!”

“Ok!” Terra moved an arm around Lea’s shoulders before he could do anything rash, dragging him bodily away. “Let's head back and check on those kids. See you two back at the bed and breakfast!”

“No let's clear this up now! I’m just as strong as Isa! Lemme prove it! Terra!” He struggled against Terra’s arm, but the other man was pretty confident in his grip on Lea. He kept him from slipping out, waving his goodbyes to the other two.

This was probably wasn’t helping prove that Lea was just as strong as Isa.

But after a few blocks, once they were squarely out of sight out of the other two, Lea broke out of his hold, surprising him. He didn’t seem to have any difficulty maneuvering himself free, less using strength and more just quick movements, but Terra still wondered why he had been struggling so much before. 

Had he been faking being unable to fight back?

“Ok ok, I’m good. I’ll get my revenge on them later, no sweat. You don’t need to worry about me anymore.”

“Good to hear.. I don’t think you’ll have an easy time getting back at Aqua by the way.”

“Eh,” He shrugged. “I’ll figure something out, I’ve got time. I’m patient.”

“You...are?”

Lea snorted. “Don’t be so surprised, jeez. I’ve got layers to myself, keeps everyone guessing you know!”

Terra raised an eyebrow, not sure how to respond to the redhead. “Well, then I’ll keep an eye out for your revenge. I’m sure it’ll be... interesting.”

“It will.”

They walked quietly down the road together, stepping out of the way of other groups as they headed home for the night and greeting anyone who recognized them. Without any of the normal hustle and bustle though and no children running around creating mischief, their walk was uneventful, and Terra almost wanted to call it peaceful.

“Hey,” his attention was pulled back to Lea who gave him a relaxed smile. “What were you and Isa talking about that got him so tense?”

“Excuse me?”

“He was doing something with your phone, which is cool, but then he got nervous,” he nodded. “I know I was doing stuff with Aqua right then, but I still saw you guys talking. So I want to know.”

Green eyes bored into his as Terra found himself coming to a stop, the other man already still next to him. It was only the two of them on this stretch of street, and even with the warm tones of the sunset it felt dark and ominous. Suddenly, he realized that he didn’t just have an easy time dragging Lea off. Most likely, he was only allowed to think that, to pull the both of them away from the others.

Away from listeners in.

“What did you say that made Isa nervous?” Lea was still smiling, but the gleam in his eyes were certainly dangerous.

They were friends, certainly, Terra knew that. Even if they didn’t know each other that well, they were still friends. 

But he was reminded that some friendships were deeper than others.

After all, he had friendships that he cared about far more than any others just as well.

“...ok. I don’t know exactly what I said that made Isa nervous,” he lifted his hand as Lea opened his mouth to say more. “Honestly, I don’t. You know him better than me, I can’t read him like you can.”

“Well, what did you say then?”

“I asked him if he was alright,” he frowned, running through their conversation in his head. “I guess I was worried that Aqua and I were pushing this whole dinner a bit hard, and again. I don’t know him that well. I don’t know what he’s comfortable with.”

Lea seemed to consider the words before nodding, gesturing to keep walking. The look in his eye had softened though, so he appeared to take some hidden meaning from Terra’s words. Terra relaxed a fraction.

“What was the last thing you were gonna ask, before I interrupted you?”

He tensed up again at this last question.

“Ah,” he ran his hand through his hair. “I’m guessing now that was on purpose, you swooping in.”

“Yup.”

“Well, nothing bad, really,” he didn’t want to say outright what he was gonna ask.  The full truth may be taken in the wrong way, even if it was done in good will. “It was a follow up to the other stuff, I wanted to ask if he enjoyed spending time with us, you, me, and Aqua. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if she was asking him the same thing right now.”

In reality, he had wanted to ask Isa if he likes spending time with Lea in particular, if they both shared a crush on one another. He was trying to ensure that Aqua wouldn’t have to use their back up plan.

But he supposed, his actions were somewhat suspicious.

“Huh,” Lea was looking at him, and Terra wondered if he was believed. “Give him some time on that one. I’m sure we’ll all be good friends, but Isa is a bit slower to warm”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” He smiled softly. “Isa’s a good friend if you have patience to wait for him.”

“...I believe you.”

\--

Isa watched as Lea was dragged off, wondering if he should laugh at the whole situation or worry for his friend. He was confused at the fact that Lea couldn’t escape such an easy grab as he was fairly certain Lea could if he wanted too, unless Terra really was that strong.

Who knew.

Looking at Aqua who smiled up at him, he realized that once again he was alone with the keyblade master. He wondered if this was going to become a habit. “The post office then?”

“Yes! Let's get going,” she led the way as he fell into step with her. “Thank you for coming to help, I really do appreciate it.”

“Its nothing,” he waved away her gratitude with a smile. “The sooner the mansion is done, the sooner everyone can settle in. Getting those parts will just mean we can do it even faster.”

“You’re right,” she nodded, threading her fingers as she held her hands to her chest. “Its going well so far, I think we’ll be done in no time. We’ll have to throw some sort of celebration once its completed.”

“I believe Sora already has plans to do that, as a part of his…” he trailed off. “I honestly can’t remember the ridiculous name he gave to the plan.”

“ Operation Remodel this Creepy Mansion to be Not Creepy,” at Isa’s searching look, Aqua shrugged. “I have a good memory.”

“So I can see.”

They reached the post office in no time at all, and Aqua signed off for the package they were supposed to pick up (Isa noticed that the worker looked a bit harried about the whole thing, although a smile from Aqua seemed to calm them down). Moving over to it, Isa tested how heavy it was, tilting his head as he calculated how to go about it.

He could probably handle it on his own for the walk, but there was no need to struggle on his own if they both were there. He looked over at Aqua who finished her cheerful conversation with the worker. “Perhaps it would be easier to trade off when one of us gets tired carrying it? It might be awkward if we both held it at the same time.”

“Mm, that's a good idea,” she nodded, and before he could say anything more, she picked the package up with ease, settling most of the weight on one shoulder. “I’ll carry it for the first half?”

“Uh,” he blinked a few times before nodding. “Sure...did you really need my help with this?”

“Of course I did,” her eyes widened, and for a second she almost looked guilty. Almost. “I’ll let you know when I need you to take over ok?”

“Alright,” he watched her as they began walking, wondering about her hidden strengths.

They took their time walking back, Isa shortening his steps so she wouldn’t have a rough time of keeping up. Around halfway she did ask him to trade places, although looking at her he was unsure if she really needed the box. Adjusting his grip to hold the box comfortably, he continued following along, enjoying the stillness of the night.

“Isa?”

“Yes?” He looked at her over the box, waiting for her to speak.

She hesitated for a moment before seeming to resolve herself to some inward battle. “You and Lea...did you enjoy yourselves tonight?”

He blinked. “I...suppose.”

“That sounds like you’re uncertain.”

He made a face at her and she laughed. “I’m sorry. But honestly Isa, I want to know if you did or not. You don’t have to worry about me being upset, I’d be more upset if you didn’t enjoy yourself and forced yourself to stay.”

How kind.

He sighed, shifting the box so he’d have an easier time looking at her. “I think it was fine. I won’t say it was the most fun I’ve ever had but… it wasn’t bad. I’m just not use to you and Terra. But Lea being there helped, I’m glad you invited the both of us.”

“You really like Lea.”

Isa paused as he considered Aqua, who seemed to be refusing to currently meet his gaze. Her statement felt loaded, and he felt the curious itch of uncertainty towards what her intentions were.

“I do… he’s one of my best friends.”

“Yes I know that. But…” she made a face. “Isa, I know we don’t know each other very well.”

“Yes,” he could agree to that statement.

“And you can refuse to answer.”

“Ok,” he did pride himself on being particularly quiet when he chose too. 

“But… when you say you like him...what do you mean  _ exactly _ ?”

He hesitated at the question, considering what kind of weight was behind her words. He could refuse her, take that way out like she had offered him. But… why did she want to know? And as for himself, did he know the true answer to her question?

He may have a heart and the full weight of emotions that came with it, but he still was wildly out of practice with them.

Would saying them outloud now clear another path in his own mind?

“He’s...important to me,” he struggled with the words. “That is to say...Xion and Roxas are also important, but in a different way then with Lea.”

“How so?”

He considered before looking at her straight on, refusing to let her avoid his gaze any longer. “He’s as important to me as Terra is to you.”

She froze for a moment before looking confused and Isa almost audibly sighed. Lea was right, they really didn’t know they were secretly dating.

“I don’t think I… quite understand what you mean,” she was hesitant in her words, putting a hand to her cheek. “Are you saying he’s...simply your best friend?”

He definitely wasn’t saying that.

“Not exactly. He is my best friend but,” he sighed. “I guess it's selfish.”

“Selfish?”

“Yeah,” He shrugged, looking off down the street. “I want him to be happy. And I know that he will be, that he is, with the way we are now. But I sometimes wonder…” He hesitated, unsure of his words.

“... if there's more to be happy about with him?”

“...yeah,” he looked at her, wondering if she understood the true weight of the words or not. “I suppose its my promise to him. To make sure his life is a happy one, and that I’ll be there for him in any part I can.

“And.. what do you think what role he wants you? In his life I mean?”

He paused, shifting the box and she reached out to take it but he shook his head. “Its ok, I got it. And I don’t know. I don’t think I honestly care what role he wants for me. As long as I’m there, then its fine. Really.”

He felt a soft ache in his heart, and he wondered what part of him was lying right now.

Aqua seemed to take in his words before smiling. “I’m sure he wants you around as much as you do.”

“I really hope he does.”

\--

Lea’s laughter seemed a bit much for the sight before, but Terra doubted he would’ve listened if he told him he wasn’t helping.

The kids were in the front yard of the bed and breakfast, looking as if they had gone through some grand battle, except it was obvious that they were the only ones responsible for the mess. Roxas and Sora were both in the bushes, seemingly having resigned themselves to being trapped in the prickly plant. Xion was sprawled out on a tree branch, looking a lot like a napping cat, while Namin é was calling up to her, trying to convince her to come down. Kairi and Ventus meanwhile were just laying back on the grass, their chests heaving as they worked to catch their breath.

All around them was the remnants of magic, with scorch marks in the grass and shards of ice. It almost looked like one of the plants had gotten hit by a strike of lightning.

Obviously, they had gotten into some kind of mischief, but Terra couldn’t rightly say what kind.

Walking over to Ventus, Terra sighed, reaching down to rub the exhausted kid’s head. “Hey Ven? You still there?”

The younger boy groaned, opening his eyes and squinting up at his friend. “Oh...hey Terra…”

“Hey. You wanna tell me what happened?”

“Racing,” Kairi groaned besides them, rolling herself over so she could sit up, rubbing her legs as if she had a cramp (she probably did). “With magic.”

“With magic?” he looked around at the destruction around him and winced. He himself had messed around with both Aqua and Ventus with magic when simply playing around, but that was in the Land of Departure, which had plenty of places built for keyblade wielders to wreak havoc. The front yard of a bed and breakfast just wasn’t the same.  “Well that explains this mess. We’re gonna have to clean it all up you know?”

“Noo,” Ven covered his face. “No more moving, just sleep.”

“We’ll help out, don’t worry,” he looked over at Lea, who was still laughing, hands on his knees as he wheezed. “Probably.”

“Just give me a minute,” Lea waved his hand, coughing through the last of his laughs. “Jeez kids, next time let us know you’re doing this so we can get in on this!”

He rolled his eyes at the other man. “Do you think Aqua really would’ve allowed us to damage someone else’s property like this?”

“Eh, still would’ve found a way,” Lea straightened up, heading over to the two in the bushes. “You guys stuck?”

“Yeah,” Sora sighed. “I’ll just... sleep here. Goodnight Axel...”

“That can’t be comfortable. You want to sleep here too, Roxas?”

“Oh, it's you,” the blonde squinted up at Lea. “We were planning on taking out your ankles.”

“Well that's mildly concerning. But I’ll take that as you don’t wanna sleep here,” Lea reached over, plucking the boy out of the bushes and tucking him under his arm like a sack of potatoes. “Lemme know if you change your mind Sora.”

“K…” and to all appearances, Sora fell asleep right there.

“Jeez,” Terra sighed, grabbing Ventus’s and Kairi’s hands to help them up despite their complaints. “Maybe we should just send you guys to bed if you’re this tired. Where did you race to, there’s not a lot of space here to run around.”

“Here’s just the start and finish line. We raced around town above the rooftops,” Ven yawned, leaning into Terra to stay upright. “It was fun.”

Terra suddenly was worried about what other damage was left around town that they couldn’t see.

“It was scary,” Kairi shook her head. “Especially cause those three,” she pointed at Ventus, Roxas (who was weakly batting at Lea’s ankles from his position) and Xion. “Were cheating.”

“Was not,” Xion called out from her tree, ignoring how Lea was making beckoning noises at her like she really was a cat he was trying to draw near. “You guys were just being lazy.”

“It's not lazy! You guys were just had the unfair advantage of three ice creams!”

“Woah you guys ate that much ice cream?” Lea laughed incredulously. “Why did Isa send you off with that much? That doesn’t sound like him.”

“I bought more” Xion yawned. “It was gonna melt if we didn’t eat it.

“Ah of course, makes complete sense. Feel like puking yet?”

Xion closed her eyes, scrunching up her face as she thought about it.

“...no.”

“Hold onto that feeling, I’m not nice enough to clean that up,” Lea held out his arm to Xion. “Wanna come down already? I don’t think I can climb up while carrying Roxas like this.”

She stared at him for a moment, blinking owishly before rolling off the branch.  Namin é gasped in shock for the first time that night, watching as the other girl tumble through the air. Lea was prepared though, and let out only a small “oof” as he caught her with his free arm, pulling her in close as she wrapped her arms around his neck, closing her eyes back into her doze.

“There we go,” he looked down at  Namin é beside him. “I’d offer to carry you in too, but I think I’m at full capacity.”

“That's ok,” she giggled, relaxing now that she realized he had a handle on the situation. “I’ll get Sora and bring him inside.”

“Why aren’t you exhausted like the rest? Did you not join in the race?” Lea knew that  Namin é didn’t have any training with the same fantastical powers as the other kids did, but they still always included her in their fun, and she always did her best with what she had.

“Oh, I did! I actually won! Everyone was up on the roofs, so I was able to use the streets without anyone trying to stop me!”

“Wow. Go  Namin é,” he smiled at her while she laughed.

“Thanks Lea.”

“Terra, you got those two half-pints then?” Lea spun around with his charges, fixing his gaze back at Terra. He had apparently accepted that both Kairi and Ventus were just going to fall asleep against him. “Or do you need me to come back out and save you?”

“I got them don’t worry,” Terra waved with a smirk, watching as Lea ambled inside to drop his two off. He looked down at Kairi and Ventus and realized with a start he had two sets of eyes staring up at him.

“So,” Ventus smiled sweetly. “How was your date?”

The sweetness was a lie. Why didn’t he see it coming?

“It wasn’t a date. But it was nice, I think Aqua wants to take them out again in the future.”

“You went on a double date with them?” Kairi gasped up at Terra, her eyes widening into saucers. “That's so sweet.”

“There was no dating, it was not a date,” he felt a warmth over his cheeks. “Just four adults going out to eat and talk that's it.”

Ventus and Kairi looked at each other before looking up at him.

“Kind of sounds like a date.”

“Ok you know what, if you two are awake enough to accuse me of something that didn’t happen, then you’re awake enough to help me clean up this mess,” he pushed them gently off his body as they let out cries of alarm. “C’mon, before Aqua gets back.”

“No we’re really tired! Swear!”

“I don’t believe you!”

“Terra please don’t make us clean!”

“Mean children who accuse me of false things have to clean that's the rules!”

He managed to get them to at least melt the remnants of the ice shards, although they complained the whole way through. They were still there when Isa and Aqua showed up, both looking on in varying levels of confusion and alarm at the state of the front yard.

But Terra focussed on Aqua, who after exclaiming about the mess made her way over to him. She smiled up at him and gave him a small nod that made him release a small breath of air.

He supposed the matchmaking would now fully begin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Legally, I'm required to make fun of Lea/Axel "Dark Rescue" Kingdom Hearts height every few chapters. 
> 
> A bit of a harder chapter since I wanted to establish a lot of things and get Aqua to the point where she feels there's enough reason to really get into matchmaking. Also teens are just bigger children I'm sure they also still get sugar rushes.


	5. Chapter 5

Riku made his way off the Highwind with a groan, stretching out sore muscles from the long trip. If someone had told him that being a keyblade master meant a lot of sitting still in a gummi ship, he may have rethought taking the exam.

...actually he would’ve still gone for it, but he’d invest in comfier seats first.

Going around to different worlds though was important, checking to see if there was any darkness infestations that needed taking care of. While there was now more keyblade wielders and masters around then there had been in years, they couldn’t always all go out and check. King Mickey was trying to make up for the literal years of kingly work he had waiting for him. Aqua was willing to go around, but her old armor was still being repaired after recovering it from the Radiant Garden castle, and she seemed jumpy to fly on her own right now. Terra…

Well Terra was willing, but there was a different issue there.

So it had fallen to him, something he didn’t really mind, but he did wish had more stretching opportunities involved.

Checking to make sure his parking job was alright, he patted the ship as he locked it up. Twilight Town’s inhabitants at this point fell into a sort of grey area with keeping world order, but having a ship any of them could wander across was not a good idea. He always double checked, just in case one of the Duck triplets decided to finally take it on a spin.

“Looking good,” he muttered to himself before turning to where the mansion was, up the forest pathway. He could go back to the bed and breakfast and relax, but he wanted to check in on his friends.

And he also had some business Yen Sid wanted him to check in on, a fact that made him frown in concentration, debating how best to handle it. He wasn’t good with upfront confrontations.

“Riku!”

“Riku you’re back!”

Before he could look up towards the call, two smaller bodies slammed into his, making him fall back on the ground in a heavy thump. “Ouch...jeez,” he groaned, looking at the two sprawled on top of him with a wince. “Really guys?”

Sora and Kairi both grinned down at him, seeming unrepentant after tackling him to the ground. Their faces did soften the fact that he was gonna have a sore butt after this at least.

“We heard the gummi ship and came to meet you! Aren’t you glad?”

“I mean, I could do without the bruising…”

“We missed you Riku,” Kairi cooed. “You and your grumpy face.”

“Wow thanks,” He wasn’t going to point out that he had only been gone for a week, and in comparison to some of their other separations, it was laughably short. “I really feel loved.”

“Aw we do love you,” Sora pressed his cheek against Riku’s, much like a cat snuggling up to someone, while Kairi laughed. “And you can’t escape that.”

“Ew, get off, I’m gonna gag.”

“Never!”

“Yeah!” Kairi moved to the other side of his face, pressing just as close as Sora was. “You can never get rid of us, not till your dying day.”

“I don’t know what I did to deserve this,” he mumbled, their crowding pushing his face together into an exaggerated pout. But soon he was laughing with them, grabbing both up in a tight hug.

It felt good, being able to hug both of them again.

“Hey slackers! Just cause your boyfriend is back doesn’t mean you can abandon your work stations!”

All three looked up (with matching red faces) to Lea at the edge of the clearing, hands on his hips as he surveyed their situation. He looked even more rumpled then normal, covered in a fine layer of wood dust with his spiky hair for once pulled back into a hair tie.

“C’mon, or else Aqua will add more time to your punishment!”

“Their what?” Riku waited till the other two got off him, holding out his hands so they could pull him to his feet.

“Punishment, sentencing, whatever. She can’t ground anyone since you guys aren’t actually her kids,” Lea shrugged. “But hey, the extra errands is close enough.”

Riku blinked before looking at his friends. Sora was whistling, hands behind his head as he looked away from him, and Kairi was sticking her tongue out at Lea in defiance (the taller redhead stuck his tongue right back out at her). “...what did you guys do?”

“It wasn’t our fault!” Sora dropped his arms quickly, grabbing onto Riku. “Really! You have to believe us!”

“That doesn’t answer my question!”

“It’s forbidden to say what crimes they committed,” Lea nodded seriously, walking over and using Kairi’s head as an armrest. Refusing to just take it, she jabbed her elbow into his side to make him stop. “Ah jeez your elbow is like a knife!”

“We had an out of control race is all, and Aqua scolded us for damaging other people’s stuff. Now we have to do more chores to really make up for it,” Kairi kept elbowing Lea to keep him back, pouting as she spoke. “It's completely unfair, we already cleaned up the mess we made, and Roxas and Xion didn’t even help clean up!”

“Neither did Sora,” Lea pointed out.

“That's cause I was sleeping in the bushes!”

Riku smirked at his friend, putting his hands on his hips and giving an exaggerated sigh. “Just like you to sleep while everyone else’s working, Sora.”

“Hey! I was tired!”

“That's what you always say.”

Sora moved to tackle Riku again, but this time the silver haired boy was more prepared, and they started scuffling while Kairi laughed. Lea simply smirked, leaning against a tree and calling out occasionally with some bad advice. 

No one noticed as he suddenly paused, looking over his shoulder, back at the mansion, until he grabbed Kairi, moving her a foot to the left.

“Axel--?”

From his running sprint (the sloping woods path helping him gather speed), Roxas launched himself in the air, maneuvering as if he was going to drop kick both boys. Luckily, despite being still a tangle in their play fight, they managed to yank back so he sailed past them, landing with a hard slam on the forest floor. Crouching there for a moment, he finally straightened up, looking at them with a frown.

“Aw, I thought I would at least hit Riku.”

“Why are you trying to hit us in the first place!”

Roxas shrugged, walking over to Sora and propping his arm on his shoulder while the boy let out a nervous laugh. “Welcome back Riku. Your time will come yet.”

Riku gave a strained smile at the blonde. He was pretty sure Roxas didn’t hate him, at least not any more. In fact, sometimes he felt like he could relate to him, on how they moved through the world. They were both determined to get their friends back, willingly diving into the dark to do so. It was what lead them to one another after all. But he was never sure if they really did resolve their fight, or if it ever would be.

Both desperately wanted their friends back. Riku had to deal with the fact that he had won that fight.

“Riku.”

He blinked, realizing he had been distractedly staring Roxas, who was now staring back with a slight squint. Sora looked anxiously between them, as if he wanted to jump into a speech about friendship to break the tension.

...did that every really work?

Roxas though simply reached out with one foot, giving a light kick to Riku’s shin. “You have to check out the mini fridge Xion and I got, it's the best thing ever.”

“...that sounds really cool.”

“It is! Ice cream whenever we like,” Roxas grinned, and Riku felt his worries melt away as a more natural, relaxed smile bloomed on his face.

“I’m still confused how the heck you got Aqua of all people to buy you a mini fridge,” the three turned to Lea, who strolled up to them. At some point during Roxas’ flying leap, Kairi had ended up piggy back riding Lea, grinning triumphantly at being so much taller than everyone else. “It seems wildly irresponsible of her.”

“It is, which is why it's great,” Roxas snickered, then paused as something clicked in his mind. “Although, you just reminded me why she bought it for us. I think I can blackmail her with it…”

“Woah woah woah, you have blackmail? On Aqua?”

“Who taught you what blackmail is,” Sora gasped while Roxas gave him a pitying look.

“Sora, I lived with like. Twelve of the biggest schemers we’ve ever met for a year. Blackmail was like currency for them.”

“That's terrifying.”

“And not very useful if used wrong,” Lea gave Roxas a shove, who dramatically leaned into Sora as if he was going to fall, the other boy squawking as he tried to keep them both up. “You want to share with the class what its about?”

“No-pe,” he slipped out of reach from everyone who could grab and stop him, hopping his way back towards the mansion. “That would ruin its potency if everyone else knew. ...well Xion knows as well but that's not the point. And Ven I guess. Terra too, but he would never say…”

“So nearly half of us already knows. Doesn’t sound like great blackmail.”

Roxas shrugged before continuing his hops back to the mansion. “You’re just jealous that I have something that you guys can’t use!”

“Hey wait Roxas!” Kairi straightened up from her perch, yanking on Lea’s hair in the process and making him yelp. “You have to use that blackmail to help us too! Axel go after him!”

“Ok ok! Stop pulling my hair jeez! DON’T PULL IT HARDER!”

Riku and Sora shared a look as Lea raced after Roxas before bursting into laughter together.

“Nothings changed huh?”

“Nope! Welcome back Riku.”

\--

“So...you’re blackmailing me.”

“Yes.”

“To get out of the extra work.”

“Ahuh.”

“And you want Xion to be included in this deal.”

“It's only fair.”

“Right, of course,” Aqua nodded. “Final question then.”

“Yeah?”

“Why are they here then?”

Lea, Sora, Riku and Kairi were all standing next to Roxas, listening into the exchange. She had been in the middle of talking with a contractor about the work that would need to be done in the attic (something about pest and animal control needing to be called in), when Roxas had burst in, the other four hot on his heels. Roxas immediately had launched into a speech about having blackmail on her, and that if she didn’t revoke the extra tasks they had to do immediately he would spread it.

While normally she would’ve ignored him, it did make her a bit tense the fact that one of the subjects of said blackmail was listening in, and the only thing that was keeping him from knowing it was one smug teenager.

Aqua stared deep into Roxas’ eyes. “I could take back the mini fridge.”

“Then I really will spill the blackmail.”

Her eyes narrowed. “You’re really not like Ven at all.”

He grinned, bright and happy and she wanted to groan at him looking so much like Ven right when she said he didn’t. It was ridiculous. “Can we talk about this without the peanut gallery.”

“The peanut gallery votes to stay,” Lea called out.

“Yeah! But only if we get in on the deal too!” Kairi yelled, still being carried by Lea in some weird redhead stack.

“Fairness for all of us!” 

Aqua fixed her eyes onto Riku’s face, who looked vaguely uncomfortable. “And you? Why are you staying?”

“I’m here cause... I kinda want to see the mini fridge everyone’s talking about, and if you do take it away this is my only chance.”

“Hm,” she put a hand to her forehead, sighing.

This was the problem with being outnumbered by teenagers. And Lea.

“Um, Miss Aqua…”

Pausing, she looked to the side where the very confused contractor was still standing. She hadn’t realized that he never left, and apparently had been standing there the whole time.

He watched her get blackmailed by a child and seriously consider bending to his will.

“...excuse me,” she put on a tight smile to him, putting a hand on his arm. “I have to deal with this right now. Why don’t you take this one,” she yanked Lea forward. “And he’ll show you around.”

“What, why me?”

“Because you’re an adult,” she smiled sweetly, standing on her tiptoes so she could speak more directly to his face. “And since it seems like you’re carrying Kairi for the rest of the day, it guarantees that I can get rid of two from the peanut gallery.”

He squinted. “That sounds like more work for me though.”

“Lea,” she put her hands on her hips. “Please do this for me.”

He blinked, tilting his head.

“...or else I’ll call Isa and he’ll stare at you judgmentally?” She wasn’t really sure how to get the man to move.

Something to figure out while she moved forward with her plans. Plans that she definitely had and still wasn’t agonizing over on how to actually matchmake someone.

Definitely had those.

“That doesn’t really scare me, but fine,” he waved her off. “You have Isa’s number?”

“Of course I do.”

“Huh,” he looked up at Kairi. “He’s making friends.”

“If only you could do the same.”

“Hey!”

He walked off, still bickering with Kairi while the construction worker followed in confusion. Aqua realized that she should have told them where exactly to take the worker, but she supposed there was nothing to do about it now. They could wander around, it got them out of the way, which was what she really wanted.

Looking at Sora and Riku still standing there though, she sighed. “I was kind of expecting you two to follow.”

Sora grinned, his hands behind his head. “I still want to know what's the blackmail that Roxas has on you.”

“And Kairi can handle Axel on her own,” Riku folded his arms, waiting for the conversation to continue. “So?”

With a grimace, she looked at Roxas, folding her arms across her chest. “Are you upset that I’m doing the matchmaking?”

“The what?”

“I mean, I definitely think its weird and unnecessary,” he shrugged. “But I’m not upset. And I’m not above using that info to get out of extra chores.”

“What matchmaking?”

“I’m starting to regret asking you about Lea’s feelings now.”

“L-Axel?”

“You didn’t regret it while buying the mini fridge?”

“That's why you bought it?”

“I regretted that only...a little.”

“Guys!”

They both looked at Sora, who was staring with wide eyes, bouncing up and down in place. “What matchmaking?!”

“And why aren’t you trying harder to keep it a secret from us,” Riku added.

“Because honestly, nearly everyone already knows or guessed,” Aqua sighed. She had a startling moment when after the dinner she had with Lea and Isa,  Namin é asked her what she was going to do next in her matchmaking plans. It worried her that she was being too obvious, but neither of the men had come to her, demanding answers, so she figured she was still in the clear.

Although she wouldn’t be if Roxas had anything to do with it.

“I’m trying to get Lea and Isa to deal with their feelings finally,” she whispered, in case one of them showed up right now at the worst absolute time. “That's what Roxas is blackmailing me with right now. Which I also want to say is really wrong Roxas, you shouldn’t blackmail people.”

“You shouldn’t do a lot of things and yet here we are.”

“...that's not a good argument.”

“I didn’t realize that the two of them had feelings for one another,” Riku put a hand to his chin, considering. “I know they have a lot of history but…”

“That's cause you’re slow to notice people’s crushes Riku!” Sora laughed, wrapping his arm around the taller boys shoulders, yanking him down to his height. “You were always like that back on the island, never realized when someone had a crush on you! You’re pretty dense!”

“Wha-hey! What's your excuse, you didn’t know they liked each other either! Or are you just more dense than me,” he shoved his friend off him.

“Hey! I would’ve figured it out eventually. Roxas probably didn’t know either.”

He lifted his hand. “I was the one who told her about Axel’s feelings. I’ve known for awhile.”

“...oh.”

“I didn’t know about Isa’s though,” Roxas eyed Aqua. “You really sure he feels the same way?”

“Yes,” the private conversation she held with the man still rang out in her head, and she was certain his feelings ran just as deep. “I think he’s just… shy”

Roxas, Sora, and Riku all stared at her, individually remembering when they had fought the man before and the way he screamed at them about the moon.

“Sure…”

“Besides,” she waved a hand. “Don’t you think it would be nice to see them happy together, being honest about their feelings?”

“You know what, yeah,” Sora smiled. “People being together with those they care about is always good. It makes us stronger!”

She smiled back at Sora, putting a hand on his head and ruffling his hair. He was always such a sweet kid. They should all strive to have a heart as big as his. “It really does.”

“This is all very nice, but what about our problem,” Roxas waved between himself and Aqua. “Just cause you say blackmail is wrong doesn’t mean I still won’t use it.”

Aqua groaned, putting her head down before looking at Roxas. “Ok Roxas, you know that you’ll be done with the extra tasks in a few days right? Can you really not stick with it for that much longer?”

“No. I’m stubborn, and now that I know I can probably get out of it, I refuse to give up on this issue.”

“Of course you do.”

She looked off distantly trying to think of a solution. She had tasked the kids with extra duties to do to make up for the damages, to ensure they took away from the whole thing the lesson to be more careful in the future. That included going around town and fixing anything they had broken on their race and cleaning up. With the mansion she simply had given them extra roles to take on, one’s that she couldn’t imagine lasting any longer then to the end of the week.

Master Eraqus had done the same with her and Terra when they were children. When they got rowdy and used their powers irresponsibly, he simply gave them more chores to remind them that if they wanted to use their keyblades, they needed to do so responsibly.

Was she being too harsh though?

Riku watched Aqua, tilting his head before clearing his throat. “What if you just give him them one last, big task and call it even? You’ll feel like he’s properly punished, and he won’t just get off easily.”

Both Aqua and Roxas made a face, finding problems with the suggested solution. For Aqua, it was the idea that she bent even a little against her sentencing, and that it might set a precedent in the future. For Roxas, it was the fact that he’d still have to do extra work, and who knows what Aqua would choose.

But it was an option, one that would mean the issue could be dropped.

“Ok fine,” Aqua sighed, holding out her hand. “How about it Roxas? I assign one task now and then we’re clear. You can even get any of the others to help you with it.”

He fidgeted for a moment, before taking her hand and giving it a shake. “Ok fine… I guess that works.”

She leaned down so they were at eye level. “And no more trying to blackmail me. Really Roxas.”

“Fine…”

She smiled, straightening back up and putting a finger to her chin. “Ok I guess I need to think of an appropriate task…”

“Ooh! Count me in on this too, I want to be done with all this extra work already!” Sora jumped forward, pushing Roxas down while he hissed at the other boy to get off.

“Hey! You’re not in my deal! I only want Xion in on this! Maybe Ven cause he was part of ice cream squad that night.”

“It's still so unfair that I didn’t get to eat any too!”

“You were half asleep!”

“So?”

While the two bickered, Aqua kept thinking, a frown on her face as she stared off into the distance. Only Riku noticed when she finally blinked, giving a nod and turning to the others with a smile. “Alright, I have a good task, something that I’ve been meaning to get started anyways. You finish it today, and we’re even.”

“Alright what is it?”

“You won’t like it.”

“...so what is it?”

\--

Terra went through the small room they had sectioned off as a general storage place during the renovations, putting together boxes and labeling where they needed to go. Some would head back to Radiant Garden and the castle, the items inside needing to be with people who actually knew what to do with them. Some boxes held things that could be cleaned up and used later on down the road in the mansion that they just needed out of the way for the moment. The rest would be properly disposed of or given away to those who were interested.

It was rather dull work, especially because he was alone in a cramped environment, but he had eagerly chosen to do it himself.

It wasn’t like he was hoping to avoid anyone but… hearing the Highwind’s engine roar near the mansion had left him stiff and nervous. He felt an itching sense of dread settle over his shoulders, as if there was a count down till someone realized he had done something wrong.

Which was ridiculous. He hadn’t done anything terrible (lately anyways). And he was an adult. He had nothing to fear from silver haired teenagers.

Keyblade Masters who were probably expecting him to answer Yen Sid’s letter though…

He shook his head, going back to labeling and slapping shipping labels on. It wasn’t anything to worry about. He was fine. Things were fine.

(When was the last time he had properly sparred someone?)

Scowling at his stray thoughts, he leaned against one stack of boxes, folding his arms and glaring at them as if they had done him a personal disservice.

“Hey Terra!”

He was knocked out of his tornado of thoughts, looking up and seeing Ventus in the door. Clearing his throat he smiled at the boy, getting off the boxes. “Hey Ven. Whats up?”

“Do we have extra boxes? Aqua said I’d probably need to go into town to buy more but I wanted to check here first,” he smiled at Terra before frowning, seeming to pick up on something. “Hey you ok?”

“Huh? Yeah,” he moved over to the boy, ruffling his hair. “Everything’s fine. And we have a few more boxes that I haven’t put together yet, how many do you need?”

Ventus continued frowning at Terra, but when it seemed like he wasn’t going to get an answer he let out a huff of air, nodding.

“All.”

Terra paused. “All?”

“Yeah,” Ventus nodded, looking at to where the stack of the boxes were. “All. We’re emptying out the attic and there’s a ton of things in there that need to be put away.”

“I didn’t realize we were cleaning that out already,” moving to grab the folded up boxes, he handed half to Ventus and carried the other half. “I thought we wanted to get the second floor pretty settled before then.

“Yeah well. Roxas got Aqua to agree to one more task, and then our punishment is done, so she chose that,” Ventus shrugged. “Roxas hates it, I think he regrets trying to get out of the other stuff. He won’t say so though.”

“Well with everyone working at it, it shouldn’t take too long right?”

Ventus made a face, gesturing to Terra to follow. With a shrug, he followed, making sure to grab tape and a pair of scissors as he went to at least deliver the boxes. He didn’t know what the full extent of what the attic was, so he really doubted they’d use up all the boxes they had.

It didn’t take too long to get to the attic, climbing up the pull down ladder. Once they were inside Terra gave a nod to the sight in front of him.

“Ah. Ok I get it now.”

The attic was a mess, with a lot of smaller items lying everywhere, pieces of furniture that undoubtedly used to go into the rooms below, and some boxes that definitely needed to be replaced, as they looked wet and old.

“Yeah,” Ventus put down his stack of boxes with a sigh. “And she wants all of it out, so we can get the pest control in here. It's ridiculous.”

“You’re telling me,” Roxas’ head peaked up over one pile of the mess, looking rather annoyed by the work he was doing. “I know it's supposed to be a big task to make up for the others we aren’t doing now, but still.” 

“Feeling a bit of regret?” Terra looked around for where Sora’s voice was coming from, but he was somewhere deeper in, hidden away.

“Oh shut up, at least after this no more extra chores,” Roxas dipped back down.

Terra put his boxes down, handing the tape and scissors to Ventus as he squinted deeper in. “Here, you take this, start putting them together, I’ll take a glance through to see if we need more.”

“Ok!” Ventus was more than happy to do the easy task of putting together boxes.

Picking his way through the mess, occasionally moving an item out of the way, he made it to the middle of the attic, where Sora and Kairi were working. Much to his surprise, Lea and Riku were there as well, with Riku organizing a pile of items and Lea sitting there, leaning back against a chair. Terra momentary froze while meeting Riku’s eyes, but the other boy simply tilted his head and waved, so he swallowed down his fear

“Hey,” He ran a hand through his hair, fidgeting. “Why aren’t you working Lea?”

“Not allowed to help out, technically,” Lea nodded, giving a smirk. “Since this is their last task, they gotta do it all on their own.”

“You could still help! We wouldn’t tell Aqua,” Roxas yelled out at him.

“Yeah but what's the fun in that?”

“I’m pretty sure if you can’t help here, you’re supposed to be working elsewhere,” Terra shook his head. “Riku I could understand as he just got back, but he’s still helping. So you’re just being lazy.”

Lea pouted at Terra, standing up with an exaggerated stretch. “How could you use logic against me, it ruins all the fun.”

“Sorry,” He chuckled, before looking around. “This is a lot though. Is everyone who was punished helping out?”

“Yup,” Kairi climbed out from one of the piles, carrying an armful of old papers. “Xion and Naminé are bringing some boxes down right now, but we really do need all the help we can get here. We need all the help we can get for this mess.”

“It's an attic for a whole mansion,” Terra nodded before cracking his neck. “Here, I’ll help out.”

“What! But that's not allowed!”

“Riku’s already helping out, and Aqua can bother me about it later,” Terra shrugged. “Besides, you really gonna complain about more help?”

They were all quick to yell out their thanks. Kairi looked at Lea slyly. “At least some people care about us.”

Lea shook his head, chuckling. “Really gonna make me look bad huh Terra? Even though you’re going against Aqua’s orders? I see how it is, and I’m hurt.”

“Aqua’s using Master Eraqus’ old punishment system,” Terra smirked. “And when one of us got in trouble, we would always secretly help each other out. She’s probably expecting us to help out.”

“Huh. Still, definitely making me look bad,” Lea stretched his arms up, grazing the ceiling before clapping his hands together. “I guess I should go back to my own work then, before I get called a slacker. Have fun, I hear there's a raccoon up here!”

“What?!”

“Axel please say you’re lying about the raccoon!”

“Lea!”

Terra smiled, watching the red man run off, dodging the occasional item tossed his way by an annoyed teenager.

Then he was (relatively) alone with Riku.

He hadn’t realized that he would be when Lea had walked off, but both he and Riku were organizing things in the same area while the others wandered off to their own parts of the attic. He tried to focus on his own work, not up for simple chit chat in case it brought up what he was avoiding.

Riku though didn’t get that memo, and look up at the man, he began speaking. “So nothing’s really changed here.”

“Not at all,” Terra moved to begin picking up some dusty old books, trying to wipe off the grime to tell what the covers said. “Although I think we’re all going a bit stir crazy… maybe should find something to do besides this work.”

“Maybe sparring?”

“Nah,” he shook his head, looking up with a frown. “I mean, I like doing that, but some of them might think of it as work and not… well, not as a relaxing time.”

“Huh,” Riku seemed unsure, obviously sharing Terra’s outlook on sparring being a fun time.  Terra was relieved that nothing was touching on the subjects he was worried about, and was hoping that perhaps he was free to go.

Did Riku even know what was in the letter? Yen Sid did mention him, but maybe he wouldn’t be brought in till they actually discussed their business.

(Whenever that would be).

“What about dancing?”

Terra went still before looking at Riku, thrown at his words. That suggestion didn’t seem like the boy, and he did seem a bit flushed after saying it. “I...what makes you suggest that?”

“Sora mentioned this one world where he did a lot of it, and he suggested that us and Kairi go there sometime,” he looked off towards where Sora was rustling around, rubbing his arm. “But I can’t dance. And probably a lot of the others can’t too which you know...”

“...it would be less weird if we all took dancing lessons together instead of just you?”

Riku scrunched up his shoulders the smallest amount, almost so small Terra missed it. “Yeah.”

Smiling, Terra nodded. Riku was probably one of the most mature amongst them, to the point that it was easy to forget that he was also just a teenager. But hearing that he wanted to learn how to dance for Sora and Kairi made his heart feel warm at hearing the sweet, innocent wish.

It reminded him when he was younger, watching Aqua going through her ballet, when he clumsily practiced the steps alone in his room. He never got it right, but he still tried.

“We can figure that out then, either find some place in town that teaches or ask Aqua to teach if she’s up for it,” he could imagine Aqua being excited at the prospect, but he didn’t want to give her too much work. She was already organizing most of the renovation details, any more work seemed overkill. Not to mention her matchmaking attempts.

“Oh yeah she’s a pretty good dancer already. Maybe we should find a teacher though, that way she can be your partner.”

He paused before frowning at Riku. “My partner?”

“Yeah, she’s the only one that would be close enough to your size. It wouldn’t quite work, you dancing with one of us shorter people.”

“I...guess so. Aren’t you taller then her yet?”

Riku gave him a weird look before standing up. “Not my point… I’ll go see what Aqua thinks, see if we can find something sooner than later.”

“Sounds good, I’ll keep working here,” he gave the boy a salute before turning back to the pile of mess in front of him.

He pretended he didn’t notice Riku hesitating before he left, as if he has something more to say to him. He didn’t look up as he heard him past, not mentioning what Terra knew deep down he couldn’t avoid forever.

It was fine, things were fine.

Things were fine.

\--

Lea walked along the hallway, taking a large yawn as he mentally calculated what he needed to finish up for the day. He was supposed to take out the rest of a chandelier in one of the rooms, and he couldn’t remember if he had turned off the power or not to it.

That was going to be a fun game in a bit.

He was fine doing the work, but it was tedious. He was looking forward to when it stopped being just taking things out and rebuilding everything and got to the painting and decorating stage.

Passing by a room with its door open, he paused as he heard voices inside. Backtracking he looked inside, curious at what the people who weren’t in the attic were doing.

The construction worker (whom Kairi and him had led around for half an hour before Roxas had come running up to them about the attic work) was discussing with Aqua over a clip board, obviously managing to reconnect to her after they left him. He occasionally gestured around the room while Aqua nodded, taking down notes.

What surprised him was that Isa was also there, leaning against a table with his arms crossed, occasionally giving a comment but for the most part just listening. At one point Aqua gestured to him and he smiled, his hand reaching up to hide the expression

Lea stared.

He couldn’t help it. Isa smiled a lot now, a lot more than before, the heart in his chest helping make each one come easier and easier. But he was still hesitant to show it sometimes, especially when strangers were around. 

And yet there he was. Smiling at whatever conversation they were having and looking relaxed in the sunlight pouring in through the windows.

Lea wanted to reach out and grab this moment and hold it into his heart forever.

“Hey.”

“Jesus f-” yanked from his reverie, he whipped around to look at Riku, who stared back smugly. “When did you learn how to do that?”

Riku just gave him a look, apparently not willing to give up the secret on how he snuck up on him. “What’re you looking at?”

“I’m,” he glanced back into the room, deflating a bit at seeing Isa looking in their direction. He no longer had that bright smile, but there seemed to be a level of amusement as he watched him, and Lea wondered if he had noticed his staring. “Nothing. Wondering what they were doing. Why are you here, I thought you were being nice and helping the attic crew?”

Riku shrugged. “Terra noticed that everyone is kinda getting restless hanging out, so I’m gonna ask Aqua about taking breaks with some dance lessons.”

“Dance lessons? Why dancing?”

Riku shrugged, and Lea grew curious at the flush on his cheeks. “It's not sparring? So all of us can do it without overthinking it. And it’ll expend a lot of energy, which for all of us is a pretty good thing.”

“Speak for yourself,” Lea yawned. “I think we definitely need more time to nap around here.”

Riku rolled his eyes at the man, not buying his laziness. When he set his mind to something, Lea would work until it was done (or he was dead). His apparent laziness seemed more like a mask to make sure people underestimated him. “Sure. You think you’ll be interested in taking lessons too? The more the merrier?”

“Ah?” He blinked, rubbing the back of his neck. “I dunno, never put much thought about learning how to dance. Never had a reason too.”

“You really need a reason to learn something?”

“I mean yeah. Usually the reason is interest,” he smirked at the other boy.

“Sure,” he walked into the room and towards Aqua and Isa, not looking to see if Lea followed. After a moment’s hesitation, he strolled inside, trying to look casual and not like someone who had been staring in like a creep. Sliding up next to Isa, he copied his pose against the table, bumping his shoulder against his. Isa said nothing, simply giving him a side eye before focussing back on what was going on in front of him. 

“Then if we finish those rooms first, we can start moving people in even when the rest of the construction is going on?” Aqua tapped a note on her clipboard.

“Yes, which will be nice for them I’m sure. But it may be a bit loud if they still are waiting for the rest of construction to be done.”

“Hm. We’ll leave it up to them then when it comes up,” Aqua finally turned away from him, looking at the newcomers. “Hey guys, what's going on?”

“Do you think we can do dancing lessons?”

Aqua paused, not expecting the quickly thrown out question. “What?”

“The half-pint wants to dance,” Lea called out, nodding solemnly. “Let him dance Aqua, its his dream!”

“Axel,” Riku frowned at the man, shaking his head.

“Just trying to help!”

He saw Isa out of the corner of his eye roll his eyes at him. He nudged Isa again and this time felt pleased when he got a nudge back.

“Well, I don’t know why dancing lessons, but sure,” Aqua turned back to the construction worker, laying a hand on his arm. “I think we got enough done for today, if you want to head back to get the things for later in the week?”

“Of course Miss Aqua,” he seemed happy to race off, especially after glancing at Lea who gave him a cheeky wave. Apparently the other man hadn’t forgotten their earlier interaction, something he appreciated. He loved when people memorized his presence.

“Mm, for some reason I don’t think he likes me.”

“I wonder why that is,” Isa drawled, giving Lea a look which he conveniently ignored.

“Back on the subject of the dancing lesson,” Aqua turned back to Riku, putting a finger to her chin. “What kind of dancing exactly? I know balet and very basic ballroom, but besides that I think it would be better to get a proper instructor.”

Riku hesitated. “I...dancing?”

“...did you not have a specific in mind?”

“...no?”

“He’s got the spirit but not the execution,” Lea quipped before finding his mouth covered by Isa’s. “Hmph!”

“Please ignore him, no one ever taught him manners,” Isa gestured to Riku. “Continue.”

“Uh,” He looked at the two of them, coming to some kind of realization before chuckling. “Ok, now I get it.”

“Hm?”

“Nothing, thinking of something Roxas said” he turned back to Aqua, leaving the men confused at what had clicked in his mind. “And I guess like, partner dancing? I’m more interested in whatever that is, seems more useful in the long run.

“Dancing isn’t useful, it's fun,” Aqua smiled. “But if partner is what you’re thinking of, then we’ll find a proper instructor that can teach the different styles. Probably something in town too so it's easy to get too.”

“I was thinking Naminé might know something there,” Riku folded his arms. “She knows a lot of what's around.”

“Actually, if you want a dance studio, I may know of one,” all eyes snapped to Isa, who looked a bit sheepish at having all their attention.

“Oo do?” Lea was fed up with his mouth still being covered, and so he licked Isa’s hand, who quickly yanked it away.

“Lea!” He scowled before wiping the saliva on Lea’s shirt. “You’re disgusting. But yes I do. I’ve never personally taken a class, so I don’t know how good it is, but it may be a good starting place at least.”

“How do you know about it then?” Lea frowned at him, trying to connect the pieces to a puzzle he didn’t have. “I don’t remember you being interested in dancing.”

“I’m not, there's a gym near there I was considering going to.”

He didn’t remember Isa being interested in a gym, but of course things like that wouldn’t have come up as Nobody’s. Still though he narrowed his eyes at him. “Very suspicious…”

“Lea,” the other man rolled his eyes at him, shoving his shoulder.

“If you already know of this one, it may be a good starting point,” Aqua nodded, looking back at Riku. “Who's interested in doing lessons?”

“Uh, Terra, but I haven’t asked anyone else yet.”

“Terra,” Aqua hesitated, her fingers tightening on her clipboard. “Huh.”

“Is that bad?”

“No no! I just didn’t know he was interested,” she shrugged. “He never joined my lessons before… Ok well we have two, and I’ll go as well. More people though will be more fun… Isa?”

The man looked up warily. “Yes?”

“Do you want to join too? Since you’re helping us find the place, you’d already be close to join in,” she put her hands together, almost as if she was beseeching him.

“I...I’ve never been that interested in dancing,” Isa shook his head quickly. “Thank you though.”

“Hm,” she tilted her head before nodding, not seeming too bothered to continue pushing for now. “Well, let me know if you change your mind. How about you Lea?”

“Me? Do extra work? Nah,” he waved a hand, glancing over at Isa before back at Aqua with a smile. “I’ll be cheering you guys on though!”

Aqua seemed to be considering something as she nodded, eyes flickering between them before turning back to Riku. “Once everyone else is done from their work then, we can ask who else would be interested. It’ll be fun, it's always good to refresh my dancing skills anyways.”

“Great, thanks Aqua,” Riku grinned. “I’ll go back and, uh...not help them with the attic. I mean it.”

Aqua’s lips twitched with a barely suppressed smile. “I’m sure you will.”

He rushed of, while three adults ran off. Lea drummed his fingers on the table, thinking about dancing, and dancing with a partner and enjoying it.

But instead of mentioning any of that he nudged Isa, smirking. “Wonder what the kid is planning on doing with those dancing skills.”

“Something much more innocent then what you’re thinking I’m sure.”

“I’m glad Riku suggested it. It’ll be a fun way for us to break out of this routine,” Aqua tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear, looking at the two of them. “You sure neither of you don’t want to join in?”

“Pretty sure,” Lea nodded while Isa shrugged his shoulders.

“If you don’t want to do it in a group like Riku was suggesting, I’m sure there’s also the option of a private class,” her suggestion was innocent, but there was some hidden intention in her words that he couldn’t currently parse out. Opening his mouth, Lea paused before speaking, looking at Isa who seemed to actually be considering her words seriously. 

Did he actually want to learn? 

“I’m… not sure if dancing and I are a compatible match,” isa frowned. “It's a different kind of skill then I’m use too.”

“You don’t have to do anything too complicated, and it can be quite relaxing. And if you were looking for a gym, dancing is actually quite the workout.

Tapping his fingers against his arm, Isa finally sighed. “Partner dancing though implies a partner. Wouldn’t really be a private class.”

“I can do it with you, if you’re comfortable with me joining in, unless you had someone else in mind,” Aqua looked at Lea and he jumped.

Her look seemed to suggest that he needed to speak up now or else she would do something to him. He didn’t remember ever being pierced by such a severe stare.

And while he still wasn’t interested in dancing, if it made Isa more comfortable in trying out this thing he was obviously interested in...he of course had to help.

“Uh...yeah Isa, I can be your partner too if you wanted,” Lea gave him a thumbs up. “I mean, if its a private session, then none of the kids would make fun of me.”

“Ah. So you were worried they’d find out about your terrible dancing skills.”

“No! Just was...not really sure of learning more,” he swallowed, his mouth suddenly feeling uncomfortably dry. “But if you need a partner, I’m happy to do it with you Isa.”

He really hoped he wasn’t blushing. His cheeks felt warm and that definitely wasn’t the right response for an innocent offer to his best friend.

Isa looked hesitantly between Aqua and Lea before nodding firmly. “I suppose that's fine. And we wont be left behind as everyone else gains dancing skills.”

“Cool, that's cool,” Lea nodded, rubbing his neck and watching Isa stand up. He didn’t trust himself in following him.

“Indeed. I’m going to go check if I’m remembering where the studio is correctly before we get any farther along,” he gave Aqua a nod and Lea a shove when he stuck his tongue out at him. He was smiling as he walked away, and Lea filed the image away.

It was a nice smile.

“So…” Aqua smiled at Lea, bringing him back to the fact that she was still standing there with him, instead of going off and doing one of the tasks she undoubtedly have. “Not much of a dancer?”

“I uh. No not really. I guess I’m gonna learn now. Hey, how did you know that Isa actually wanted to learn? You acted as if you knew that at least one of us would say we wanted to take lessons.”

“I didn’t know exactly,” she hugged her clipboard to her chest, shrugging. “But him mentioning that he found a dance studio while looking for a gym made me take a guess at the fact that he was actually considering it.”

Lea considered. The gym, while odd, made sense. While fighting was no longer an ongoing thing for them, they all still kept in shape, still kept up to date with their skills, and he figured Isa was no different. While he may not spare anyone (a fact that gave Lea many mixed feelings), he could keep his strength up. The dancing still was still surprising, and he looked at Aqua.

“Maybe he was inspired by you, how you use dancing in your fighting style,” Lea theorized.

“I’d be very flattered if that was why,” Aqua smiled sweetly. “Whatever his reason, I think it’ll be good for him, and maybe he knows that.  Dancing can be very relaxing.”

“You think he wants to do it to relax more?”

“I think it's why the rest of us are doing it. Why can’t he be the same way?”

““Huh,” he looked at Aqua in appreciation. Someone else was looking at Isa and trying to figure out his quiet thoughts, to see how they could help him. It made him feel good that Aqua was putting in that effort. “Thanks. For him I mean.”

“Its nothing,” she nodded before grinning at him. “Also, if you want, I can tutor you in dancing outside of the classes, so when you go you can wow him by actually knowing more than he expected.”

“What?” he rubbed his neck. “Why would you do that for me?”

“Lets just say, I like to help my friends out,” she tapped her nails rhythmically on her clipboard. “You don’t have to accept it now though. It's a standing offer Lea. Whenever you want help, just let me know.”

“Pfft, I’m good, I’ll be fine on my own,” he had forced his way into keyblade skills, he could force his way into this. “I guess it’ll be a good way to loosen up at least. I’m still coming to yours and the kiddos sessions to cheer you on though, so you better be pulling out those fancy moves of yours.”

“Of course I will,” Aqua laughed. “Now, weren’t you supposed to be taking apart a chandelier?”

“Ah you remembered…”

He followed her out, hands in his pockets as he thought over the events. Aqua was looking out for Isa, even if she didn’t fully know why she needed to. Isa was relaxing around more people, looking more and more like the happy boy from his childhood

He was going to have dancing lessons with this slowly brightening Isa.

Wishing that he had the high collars that were present on all of the jackets his old friend wore, he bit down a smile, walking off to get electrocuted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy what a struggle this chapter was to write. Changed things around several times, the dancing idea was actually not in the first write through, and I almost made Aqua get the kids to do a bit of matchmaking for her, but in the end I felt that was a bit too contrived. In the end I decided to focus a bit on whatever Terra is avoiding and have a moment of Lea just looking at Isa oh boy.


	6. Chapter 6

Isa peered down at the neatly alphabetized list of names in his contact list, dismissing each one by one. It was a rather short list, although that had to do with the gummi phone being a new and unique creation, and soon he hit the bottom of it, with the only way to go was back up. 

All of the key wielders names were listed; once Sora had realized that it was possible to save multiple numbers to the gummi phones, he declared that it was important for them to all be connected. Riku had backed him up, noting it would be important in case of emergency, looking very embarrassed when Kairi noted after that it would also prevent certain people from trying to disappear into the universe due to misplaced worries. Most of these numbers though Isa had never used or would ever use, the biggest interaction he had with them was being forcibly added to Sora’s group chat with everyone else.

He had quickly muted it, finding the constant notifications aggravating, and the little he read of it never caught his attention. He hadn’t looked at in nearly a month by this point, a streak that was just going to keep going until someone forcibly dragged him back in.

He also knew for a fact that despite not personally seeing it, his name in that chat had been changed to something ridiculous, and he didn’t want to know what.

He’d have to get revenge on Lea for whatever it was. Even if he wasn’t the one who changed it, it was undoubtedly caused by his bad influence.

But besides the keyblade wielders, he only had the numbers of those settled back in Radiant Garden. With these he had even less of an urge to message, and besides from Ienzo he never touched any of their contacts.

Anytime he was around them he always felt self conscious, his past deeds whispering behind him in every interaction. By the end of his visits he was often left wishing that they would just kick him out of the castle, much like when he and Lea were children.

At least that would feel normal and warranted, unlike the stilted conversation and probing questions.

Honestly, the gummi phone was really just a fancy block that he carried around, only used to keep in contact with Lea, Roxas, and Xion. With the teens, he kept his messages to a minimum, not wanting to bother them, and simply asked them if they wanted him to pick up ice cream or sent pictures of things he thought they’d enjoy. Xion enjoyed the pictures of dogs, while Roxas always gave a thumbs up emoji to each and every embarrassing Lea photo.

Lea, of course, he texted the most. He messaged him whenever he didn’t feel confident in his voice, he messaged him when they hadn’t seen each other during the day, and he messaged him just when he wanted to. Whenever one of them felt like speaking to one another, a text would be sent, letting their banter continue no matter the distance.

The amount of messages probably was absurd, but Lea was his best friend.

It was natural.

But now (not for the first time, because speaking still was hard sometimes), he couldn’t click Lea’s name and ask the questions currently swirling around his mind. 

While they hadn’t touched on the topic again, Lea had made it plenty clear what his opinion was towards Isa’s attempts at finding his own apartment. The occasional notes from others letting him know Lea asked them to convince him against it let him hear Lea loud and clear and understand that it was a topic to be avoided with him as much as possible.

So asking Lea for any help with figuring out what was good or bad with the apartment he currently was standing in was something he had to avoid at all costs.

“Mr. Isa?”

He glanced up at the real estate agent, a shorter man whose name Isa had already forgotten. He felt a twinge at being called ‘Mr. Isa’, but said nothing, and put his phone away in case the man had something important to say. “Yes?”

“Do you have any questions? You’ve been lost in thought for a few minutes,” the man constantly seemed nervous around him. It was almost as if he was worried that if Isa didn’t like the place, a terrible fate would befall him.

Isa would have to ask Lea if he looked intimidating sometime.

“Oh, no, not at the moment. The tour was very… clear,” he patted the kitchen counter top he was leaning against, unsure what else to say. The apartment was in Sunset Terrace and included utilities, but it required a whole tram ride to get to walking distance from the mansion, and while he wanted to live separately, that seemed a bit too far.

He really needed someone to talk about the pros and cons of each apartment as he went through them.

“Do you like it? Or do you want to move onto the next one, there's a few more in the area,” the agent flipped through his clipboard, looking at his list. “We can walk together to some of them?”

“I… may I have a few more minutes?” He made a face, not wanting to rush out without fully considering the place. “I want to… ask a friend for their opinion on this place, send them some pictures first.”

“Of course, take your time,” the real estate agent quickly moved out of the kitchen, off to do something that Isa didn’t care about. What did real estate agents really do besides walk someone around homes and point out little details? Isa certainly didn’t know.

Taking his gummi phone back out, he took a few pictures of the kitchen, taking enough so that he was guaranteed to have at least one properly angled image. It was a small space, with no window in this particular room, but size wasn’t an issue. It wasn’t like one person living on their own needed a lot of room, and it was in his budget (he had money actually saved from his time in the Organization, allowing him to entertain this venture without having a job yet).

No window though meant no sunsets. Lea wouldn’t like that.

He blinked at the stray thought before scowling. It wasn’t an apartment for his friend, it was for him. Lea could get plenty of sunsets elsewhere.

Shaking the unhelpful thoughts out of his mind, he quickly picked out which pictures would be best to send off, going back to his list of contacts to see who to send them to.

He couldn’t send them to Lea.

He knew that, it was an undebatable fact in his mind.

Scrolling through his contacts, he paused over one before making up his mind, clicking on Aqua’s name. She was responsible, and had been researching what was important to have in a home due to all the remodelling work. She undoubtedly could give him a properly informed opinion on the apartment, without any biases included.

And they were...friends now. He still was nervous of her, her abilities as a keyblade master, but that was slowly fading away.

She was kind, and he saw the attempts she made to connect to him and Lea. Ever since the dinner she would speak to them more, and Isa found himself less and less surprised that she would include himself in her group.

It was odd, and he still didn’t know why it was important to her to reach out to him, but he couldn’t complain. Life was moving on, and it was probably healthy for him to make more connections.

Looking at his message thread with her (which was now only filled with pictures of the empty apartment), he sighed, shifting to his chat with Lea and sent him instead a picture of a dog he saw early. One of the inhabitants of the apartment complex had let it just run around, and he managed to get a few completely adorable shots of the little thing.

He wished he could talk to Lea about the apartment, get his opinion. But Lea didn’t want him to get an apartment, so he wouldn’t bring up the topic again.

He knew it was probably not the right decision, but it certainly was an easy one.

\--

Xion rolled her shoulders, stretching up on her tippy toes before picking up the struggle bat, swinging it in an arc in front of her to get used  to the feel. She had learned the hard way, that taking the time to stretch before battle was a necessity. All of her stretches came from watching Axel, as he had often stood in the Grey Area, stretching like a cat and ignoring SaÏx’s comments that he was in the way. Lea still did them, long arms and legs stretched out in the kitchen, taking up space while he waited for food. Isa would just sigh and try and push past him.

A heart changed a lot, but many habits stayed it seemed.

Finished with her stretching, she pointed the struggle bat dramatically at Hayner. “Ok! I’m ready!”

“I’m not,” he grimaced, looking back at their watching friends. They were in the Usual Spot, and had pushed most of the mess to one wall so he and Xion could have space to practice. Using the Sandlot opened them up to heckling from Seifer, and it wouldn’t look good to get in a fight so close to the tournament. “I still have bruises from last time.”

“You chicken Hayner?” Roxas called out, grinning at the scowl tossed his way. “Scared that you’re going to get beaten again?”

“I’m not a chicken! It was close last time, I’m not an easy target!” He pointed at Roxas. “And I don’t see you volunteering to take a beating yourself!”

“I can’t fight Roxas, he keeps trying to dual wield and that won’t help me in the actual competition,” Xion huffed, stomping her feet. “He was ok before he got the second keyblade, but now he’s been corrupted by it.”

Roxas shrugged, a pout falling over his face at being reminded why he was benched. His continued possession of Oathkeeper and Oblivion had left everyone a bit puzzled after they sat down for a moment and processed the presence of both keyblades. He no longer had a hidden heart in him with everyone in their own bodies, and yet they still appeared as if he did. Yen Sid was just as puzzled as everyone else when they brought the situation to him. In the end he decided that as long as it wasn’t harming Roxas’ and his heart, there was nothing that needed to be done about it.

Due to him now possessing a unique keyblade style that most people couldn’t replicate,, he had an extremely unfair advantage in battle. But when it came to switching back to one weapon, he kept swinging his empty arm, looking quite confused when he’d end up slapping someone instead of properly hitting them with a weapon.

Being hit with a struggle bat was ok and fair to the rules, but being slapped by a very confused Roxas was not something Xion wanted to go through multiple times.

Hayner groaned, putting a hand to his face. “Well, I need someone to switch off rounds with me so I don’t die before the tournament. Olette, you’re good with a bat too, why not you?”

“Nah I’m ok,” she was perched up on one of the boxes, working with Pence on making a sign for Xion for cheering for her during the match. It involved a lot of markers and glitter. “Pence? How about you give it a turn?”

“I can’t stop what I’m doing, ask Axel” Pence was focussed on drawing Xion’s head, doing his best with the little art skills he had. “Dang, we should’ve gotten Naminé to help with this, it would’ve looked so much better. Why didn’t we invite her?”

“She’s busy going with Aqua to sign up for dance lessons,” Lea waved a hand. “And I’ve already been deemed unfit to help out, something about being too tall.”

“You held me back by my head last time, you lost practice privileges.”

“That's fair.”

“Dance lessons?” Olette put her hands together in excitement. “Oh that sounds fun! I want to do that too!”

“If you really want to, I can text Aqua right now,” Lea stretched an arm up, showing off his gummi phone. He was sprawled out on the small couch, legs hanging off the arm rest, and just generally taking up as much space as he could. Despite the Usual Spot being reserved for the Twilight Town kids and their friends, he had managed to convince everyone that he was allowed in as well. The only complaint was from how much space he took up, but no one really minded. “She’ll sign you up too, you’ll just have to finish the forms later.”

“I dunno, I’d have to ask my parents first,” Olette squirmed, frowning. “It's so cool that you guys get to take them though, are you all signing up?”

“Nah,” Roxas slouched down in his seat, wishing they could finally get to the Xion and Hayner fight. “I already know how to dance.”

The Twilight Town kids voiced their shock and Roxas threw up his hands. “Hey! I do! Why are you all so surprised?”

“Cause all you do is skateboard around! Have you been learning in the secret of night or something?” Hayner put his hands on his hips, squinting at Roxas till Xion nudged him with her bat. “Ah no we didn’t call go yet!”

“He really does just know how to dance,” Lea smirked, pulling his eyes away from his phone. “He’s a magic dancing boy.”

“That's impossible.”

“Please don’t call me a magic dancing boy.”

“It's true though.”

“How did you magically learn how to dance then,” Olette rolled her eyes, learning long ago that even if it was magic that let her new friends do things, there was probably a more detailed explanation behind it.

“Well, Sora’s knew how to dance when I was uh. Born,” Roxas shrugged. “So I got that skill. Xion knows how to dance too, but she’s still taking classes which seems silly to me…”

“Just cause us Heart Hotel kids learned dancing through heart osmosis doesn’t mean I still can’t take the lessons,” Xion sniffed. All of them had tested their dancing skills when Aqua and Riku came with the suggestion to learn, and were startled to find that those who had been protected in Sora’s heart for a bit knew to dance as well as he did. Roxas and Xion were unsurprising, as a lot of their original parts came from Sora, but Ventus shocked Aqua as previously he had been rather uncoordinated when trying with her before. “And they needed even numbers since its partner dancing.”

“Who else is taking them?” Hayner rested his bat against his shoulder, edging back while Xion narrowed her eyes at him trying to escape. “Since its apparently not mandatory.”

“Uh, Aqua, Terra, Riku,” she counted off on her fingers, her momentary distraction letting him move even further back.. “Kairi, Naminé and me. So six of us.”

“Don’t forget those two,” Roxas pointed at Lea, who lifted an eyebrow at the boy.

“I don’t remember being two people. Also, I’m not taking a class with them.”

“But you are taking a class! With Isa!”

“Technicality.”

“Oh?” Pence pulled away from the sign to look down at Lea, who stubbornly stared down at his phone, refusing to meet anyone elses eyes.. “Don’t want anyone else to see how bad you dance?”

“I’m not a bad dancer,” he grumbled. “No. It just worked out that way, I’m sure if I was bullied I would’ve joined the group, but Isa needed a partner. So I’m doing this just as a favor to him.”

“Which means you were bullied to join Isa,” Roxas joined Pence in looming over Lea, gaining an evil glint in his eye. “Interesting. Didn’t know it was that easy.”

“I was not bullied,” He rolled his eyes, putting his phone down and meeting Roxas’ eye. He knew the kid knew what his hidden feelings were to Isa, and why they helped convinced him to take the lessons, but no way he was going to say them out loud while the rest were there. “I’m doing this to help out a friend. Why aren’t you taking lessons with Xion huh?”

“Cause I can dance already.”

“Well, maybe so can I!”

“Mm,” Roxas eyed him before shaking his head, coming to a conclusion from just one look. “Nah, you can’t. And you still were bullied.”

“Psh, just you wait. You’re gonna be so jealous when we’re dancing circles around you. You’ll wish you took lessons with us.”

“You’ll never be better then me and Xion,” Roxas stuck out his tongue at Lea before straightening back up, avoiding the swat sent his way. “You probably wouldn’t have joined the group lessons if we asked you.”

“You’re not taking them, why would you ask me?”

“Yeah but would you have?”

Lea shrugged, picking up his gummi phone back up. “I guess if you really wanted me too? It’s not like I’m completely against it.”

“Like with Isa asking you?”

“He didn’t ask me.”

Pence leaned further forward, and Lea was starting to get nervous that the boy would topple over onto him at some point. “Did Aqua ask you instead of him?”

“Kind of. It was more like she glared at me so I knew to offer my services up. Wait, how did you know she did the asking instead?”

“My mind understands many mysteries.”

“...what does that mean?”

“Ignore him,” Olette waved a hand, apparently gaining some resistance to Pence’s occasional cryptic moments. “He’s gotten into philosophizing lately, we think its a cold.”

Pence gave a sad sigh. “No one recognizes that I always speak the truth.”

“You thought last week a dog was behind one of the Seven Wonders all along.”

“Still the truth.”

Lea rolled his eyes, tuning their argument out as he didn’t really care if Pence did have a third sense or not. He had more important things to think of currently.

Such as, the pictures Isa had sent him.

It wasn’t suspicious, just a cute dog which had sat nicely for Isa to take a picture of it. It actually made him smile when he first saw it.

But it held a hint of where Isa was. Even though Isa hadn’t said what he was doing that day, Lea knew he was checking out different apartments. The dog probably lived near one of the ones he was touring, undoubtedly the puppy dog eyes a convincing argument to sign a lease immediately.

It was giving him a headache.

He knew, deep down, that if he wanted to be a good friend, he should be helping him. It would be easy, look around for something good for his budget, make fun of bad wallpaper, intimidate away anyone who wanted the same place as Isa.

That's what he should be doing, but instead he was listening to a bunch of teenagers bicker as he stared grumpily at a picture of an admittedly very cute dog.

Dang dog was going to get Isa to sign a lease for an apartment.

Grinding his teeth, he aggressively typed a reply back.

 

_ Lea:  _ Could steal the dog

_ Isa:  _ Lea no

_ Lea:  _ But you like it!

_ Isa:  _ Lea no

 

He shook his head, a small smirk flitting over his lips at Isa’s response. He would never (now at least) steal a dog from someone. And there was way too many people he hung around with now who would call him out for it. Maybe even punch him for it.

“Whatcha smiling about?”

He blinked, leaning his head back and seeing Olette peering over at him. As she was not one of his half-pints, he didn’t really feel the urge to explain the thoughts running around his head. He put his phone away, shrugging. “Just some pictures. Why, you getting bored with arguing over if Pence can see the future or not?”

“You stopped listening to us awhile ago huh? We’ve moved back to Xion beating up Hayner.”

“SHE’S NOT BEATING ME UP!” Hayner hastily blocked a blow from Xion, wincing. “We’re totally on even footing!”

Lea laughed. “Keep telling yourself that kid.”

“I wish one of my friends would actually believe in me.”

Olette laughed before sighing. “I so wish I could just join dance classes like you guys. It's so unfair, but my parents would kill me if I did it without permission first.”

“I mean, we need permission too,” Xion side stepped a swing from Hayner with a grin. “Riku asked Aqua first, so that counts.”

“How did you convince Aqua to let you guys do this? Last time you were all like, mansion grounded for magic shenanigans,” Pence noted.

“Guilt,” Lea nodded seriously. 

“What?”

“Well, probably not. But after her attempt at being strict, I think Aqua realized that we need something else to do besides working in an old mansion all day long, or else we’ll go crazy and break the town.”

“So basically, guilt brought forth dance lessons,” Roxas grinned. “The natural order of things.”

“You said it, blackmailer.”

“Whatever,” Roxas was unrepentant in his attempt, even though it hadn’t gone as he wanted. He did never want to go in the attic if he could help it though. “I’m just looking forward to still being the better dancer then all of you even though I’m not taking any classes. Especially you, Axel.”

“Why does nobody believe I can dance…”

\--

Aqua knew she could dance, and she knew everyone else believed she could dance. She could dance since she was very little, taking classes alongside her keyblade lessons that Eraqus took her too once a week, ignoring the looks from the other parents whenever they arrived.  So for a moment, while looking through the paperwork that the instructor of the dance studio had handed her, she wondered if it would be easier for her to teach everyone instead, even if she wasn’t the best at partner dancing. It would require less effort then filling out each stack of papers, and she didn’t mind taking on the extra task for her friends. She could handle it, easy.

It was good to keep busy anyways.

But she knew she should just go through with setting up the classes with a professional instructor, so the paperwork was required. Shaking her head, she dragged her eyes over the paperwork, a frown slowly creasing her forehead. It listed expenses to cover for lessons, medical waivers in case any of them got hurt there (something that definitely was going to happen knowing their track record), and permission slips. 

The last detail was what was bothering her the most.

The instructor had made it clear that anyone under 18 needed signed permission from their guardians, and while that was understandable, it brought up a very specific problem for the lot of them. For those who had only been around for a few years, they had no official documentation to prove their existence, let alone note down their guardians. The rest of them had been separated from their homes for many years, and would have to see if they could even use previously installed IDs.

It also made her consider Terra, Ventus and her own current situation. Before, if asked who was their guardian, Master Eraqus’ name would be given. He would’ve signed the papers himself for them, no problem, and they could move on. But since he was… gone now, the situation was different. Sure, she and Terra were adults now and could sign for themselves, but Ventus was different. He still needed someone to look out for him.

Ventus was still only a teenager after everything they went through.

She would have to go back to the Land of Departure and see if she could find anything on what to do for him, see what Master Eraqus had in place in case of his disappearance. She was not naive; of course he had something just in case he left them, even though none of them ever believed it would happen.

Once she knew what their paperwork looked like, the others without proper guardians would have to be dealt with. Squinting at the ceiling, she wondered about the legal status of some of her friends, realizing that Lea and Isa probably were also in a grey area of legality due to years of being Nobodies. “I wonder if Lea and Isa even have ID…”

“Probably not.”

Jumping, Aqua looked down towards the source of the voice. It was Naminé, who had wandered off earlier to observe some of the dance classes in session. She had specifically asked to come with Aqua on checking the studio out, curious about how it worked as she had never been in any class room before. It also went unsaid that she would be drawing the dancers. Her ever present sketchbook though seemed to be currently put away in the pink handbag at her side (probably borrowed from Kairi), and she was staring up at Aqua, a small small on her face.

She had a habit of being exceptionally quiet, showing up so suddenly that she would make people jump. Aqua wouldn’t say it was a trait that she alone had, as all of the old Nobodies moved much quieter than normal people, and seemed to instinctively know how to blend in with the background. It was a question of whether these skills came from their previous existence, or simply due to the situation they were in that taught them how to cling to the shadows.

Naminé appearing acts though were still one of the more startling ones, as she looked so bright and sunny that it was hard to imagine her light being kept hidden from anybody.

“Sorry, I didn’t hear you come up,” Aqua placed a hand to her heart, catching her breath. 

“Oh no, I’m sorry about scaring you. But they probably don’t have one. ID’s I mean.”

Aqua frowned. “You seem pretty certain they don’t.”

“They came from Radiant Garden,” Naminé pressed her hands together in front of her, letting her fingers thread together as she pointed them at Aqua. “Most identification from there right now is a mess. I remember hearing about it while I was still resting at the castle there.”

“Oh,” Aqua felt her heart drop, nodding. “That makes sense, it was one of the worlds that fell… it's funny though, that we never thought to get this settled before.”

“Why is it coming up now?”

“Oh, the forms,” Aqua passed one to her so she could take a look. “We need guardian permission to sign most of you up. I suppose I could just sign it and hope they don’t check, but…”

“In the long run it may cause problems,” the blonde nodded, turning the page carefully as to not crease it. “I’m sure Di-Ansem can put this together for us. And probably make sure Lea and Isa have something to.”

He was probably the only person they could logically go to with this problem. Ansem and the rest of the reformed Organization members had been working to attone and help as much as possible in their home world. Getting permits for a mansion in separate world had been a cinch for them; this probably wouldn’t even make them bat an eye at the idea.

“That's a good idea… I would need to first go to the Land of Departure and check on my, Terra and Ventus’ things, see if any of that's still around. Then I can go to Radiant Garden, hm, probably will want to do it all in one swoop, which means taking a day or two off from remodelling,” Aqua began mentally planning out her calendar. Naminé watched her, tapping the tips of her fingers together before clearing her throat.

“I can...I can help if its too much for just yourself. I mean, Ansem will probably listen if I ask…” she made a face at the prospect though. “I wouldn’t mind much.”

Like for many, things were complicated when dealing with that man.

Aqua hesitated, analyzing Naminé’s expression. It would make things much, much easier if someone handled one part of the whole affair. But Naminé was clearly uncomfortable with the idea of going on her own, and she wouldn’t feel comfortable putting her through that.

Besides, she didn’t mind the extra work. She could handle it.

“That's ok, I can talk to him about it,” she smiled encouragingly, patting Naminé’s shoulder. “Maybe you can instead help me tell the others and get them organized and prepared for whatever I’ll need them to fill out?”

“I suppose,” Naminé frowned, eyeing Aqua as if she could pick her apart and see inside.

Perhaps she could. Aqua had Naminé’s powers explained to her once, but it was a complicated affair and even Naminé didn’t fully understand it. But one of her memory chains undoubtedly lead to the thoughts swirling inside Aqua’s mind, enough links between them that the path was there.

But Naminé didn’t need to worry, and Aqua tried to convey that sentiment with her smile. “Why don’t we head out and get lunch. Terra and Ven did promise to save us a table at the bistro.”

Naminé seemed to consider her for a few more moments before smiling and giving her a nod. “That sounds good. I don’t think there’s anything else I want to see around here, I got a lot of sketches of the dancers, they move beautifully.”

“You’ll have to show us when we get there then.”

As she lead Naminé out of the studio, Aqua wondered about asking Terra and Ventus to help her with looking for any old papers Eraqus had. He had an office in the Land of Departure castle, but they had kept it sealed up and locked out of respect for the man the first time they had wandered across it in the halls of the castle. It may be time to finally open it and see what was left inside. Perhaps he had left things there for them to find, items in place to help them. He always had something for them, always had a next step.

(What would he consider important enough to give to them?)

(Or did he expect them to figure everything out on their own.)

(Did he expect her too?)

Perhaps she would go on her own.

Before her thoughts could further spiral, she felt her gummi phone buzz several times. Taking it out she squinted at the notification, investigating why someone had just sent several messages to her.

 

_ 4 new media messages from Isa. Swipe up to view now. _

 

Isa never texted her. The only time he seemed to even touch the gummi phone was when either Lea, Roxas, and Xion weren’t nearby to speak to him, and even then he would only look at it for such a short time she wasn’t sure if he actually sent off a message. She had just assumed he was uninterested in texting, a thought that was further proved as he seemed to never look at Sora’s group chat they were all part of.

So for him to text her now was both puzzling and also exciting. Maybe he was really opening up more, her attempts at friendship working. The more comfortable he felt, the better her attempts to help him and Lea would go.

Swiping up, she paged through the images carefully, trying to puzzle out what they meant all together. One was of a kitchen, another was what looked like a living room, another a small bathroom, and finally what was a bedroom. They were carefully taken, and she got the feeling that he had made sure to stage each one to get as much of the rooms into view.

Her phone buzzed again and she scrolled down to see the new message.

 

_ Isa: I _ f you wouldn’t mind, I’d like a second opinion. These are pictures from one of the apartments I’ve been looking at.

 

“Oh,” she blinked a few times, going back to the images and looking at them with a more critical eye. If he needed help with evaluating an apartment, she couldn’t just glance through the pictures.

“What are those?” Namine grabbed her attention, having spotted the images on her gummi phone. “Ideas for the mansion?”

“No, possibly Isa’s new apartment. He wanted my opinion on them…” Aqua tilted the phone further down so Namine could look as well, knowing that she of all people would have a good eye for it. “What do you think of it?”

“I’m surprised he didn’t ask Lea.”

“I...meant about the pictures.”

Namine smiled. “I know, but still. They seem to share everything, for him not to go to Lea first...”

“I… hmm. Yeah I guess so,” Aqua remembered Lea asking them if they would convince Isa not to get an apartment, and wondered if it was less of a joke then she originally thought. “Can I still get your opinion on these pictures though? It seems a bit dark to me.”

“Mm. Small windows. Definitely should look for something a bit brighter.”

“Yeah, I think so too,” Aqua hesitated before typing out her message, hoping her words were helpful.

 

_ Aqua:  _ I think someplace with bigger windows would be better. And a better kitchen.

_ Aqua:  _  Send me any more you have!

 

“Well, hopefully that's enough,” Aqua put her gummi phone away. “It's hard to give advice for an apartment I can’t personally see.”

“I’m surprised he’s using his time off today to do this, I would think he’d be with Lea,” Naminé gave Aqua a sly look. ”Shouldn’t you be using days off like this to make sure they’re hanging out together?”

Aqua put a hand to her head. Naminé’s curiosity to her matchmaking still threw her for a loop. “I can’t try and get them together every day, they’d catch on if I did. And they do have their own lives to live.”

“But, if you knew what they were doing, you could orchestrate moments where they accidentally run into one another all over the place. You know, very romantic movie like.”

“The dance lessons will give them enough romantic moments, I’m not going to force them into randomly bumping into one another,” Aqua groaned. “Oh no the dance lessons. I just thought about the paperwork again.”

Namine patted her back gently. “Its ok Aqua. You can matchmake first and then do the paperwork.”

“I think that order should be switched.”

Namine smiled, turning with a hum and walking in front while Aqua followed, trying not to worry too much about the girls interest. Arriving at the bistro, it took only a moment to spot Terra and Ventus, who had ordered everyone slices of cheesecakes that they were currently digging into.

“Hey,” Terra pushed out a chair for Aqua with his foot, while Namine sat down next to Ventus, taking out her sketchbook and flipping to the pages filled with dancers. “How’d it go?”

“Eh,” Aqua shrugged, waving a lazy hand. “There's a lot more paperwork then I realized. It feels all very...adult.”

“Ah, adult,” Terra nodded slowly, a smirk growing on his face. “And here I was thinking that adult conversations were only to trick people into hanging out with you.”

“Hey,” she gave a gentle shove to his shoulder while he laughed, a smile tugging at her lips.

“Oh good, now you have another excuse to get Lea and Isa on a secret date with you guys,” Ventus said slyly, smirking at them. “Since us teenagers can’t have any part of adult things, obviously.”

“Oh really?”

“Yup, it's the law. I’ll just enjoy this cheesecake all on my own,” Ventus moved to steal away Aqua’s plate.

“Oh no, you definitely can be a part of adult things,” Aqua quickly pulled her plate back to her side of the table, pointing at Ventus. “You’re going to help me go through some old papers back at home. So haha, no escape for you.”

He pulled a face at her and she returned the look with her own, Terra laughing at the two. Turning to the stack of papers Aqua set on the table, he picked one up, paging through to see what details was in there.

“Oh, we need our IDs to sign up? If mine’s not in my old desk, then it's definitely been lost forever.”

“Which is why we’re going to be going home and look for all three of ours,” Aqua nodded. “We should’ve done it ages ago, but better late than never I suppose.”

Ventus held up a hand. “Wait, you guys don’t have your ID’s? How have you been managing the whole remodeling stuff, don’t they need stuff like that to make sure you’re not just some random people trying to claim a mansion for your own?”

“Ansem set everything up, so they only need his identification and permission for other people besides him to work and live at the mansion,” Aqua waved away his worries. “This dance thing is kind of the first time where we’ve tried to set up something on our own. Everyone needs new ID’s and someone declared as their guardian for it to work. You might need it as well, Ven, depending what we find back home.”

“Huh,” Terra looked at Ventus. “I guess we’ve all been kicking it illegally this whole time.”

“You should tell Roxas that, I think he’d get a kick out of it.”

“He definitely would,” Namine grinned, taking a delicate bite of cheesecake. “But, I don’t understand. Even if we do get an ID set up, wouldn’t it be redundant? Because it would only be based on the world we got it from? I mean, you three won’t even be living here, how would that translate over?”

“Well, it's a bit complicated,” Terra scratched his chin. “The ID’s are definitley different world to world, and I’m sure there’s some that don’t even use them. But if I remember right from our old lessons, most worldhoppers use a spell that alters their ID’s to fit in with the world. It's kind of… kind of like Donald’s camouflage spell. Our old ones had the magic already on them when we first got them so I never really thought of it too hard...”

“It's basically a lot of magical nonsense,” Ventus waved his fork at Naminé. “Although, we never tried to sign up for something off world before, so it never mattered what it did. It's probably not normal for world hoppers to actually try this sort of thing in a world that's not their home.”

“Exactly. You know, Scrooge might actually have a good idea on how to handle it, I mean he does have businesses on multiple worlds,” Terra pointed at Aqua. “He has to know how to work with all this legality.”

Aqua nodded, filing that thought away. “Good idea Terra. I was also going to ask Ansem, see if he has any ideas what to do.”

“Sounds good,” he nudged the cheesecake to her. “Now eat, you’ve been walking around a dance studio all day, you need food before you try and solve all the world’s problems.”

“Yes Terra,” she rolled her eyes at him as she picked up her fork, taking a bite. She quickly smiled at the taste of it, letting out a contented sigh. “Little Chef always makes the best food…”

“That's right! Little Chef is certainly the best in town, so you lot shouldn’t be going elsewhere after seeing how inferior they are.”

Turning their heads, both Terra and Aqua felt dread at seeing Scrooge McDuck, the glint in his eyes reminding them of the restaurant sabotage he had encouraged previously. They hadn’t seen him since they had their great restaurant betrayal, and neither had changed their mind on avoiding the shady business of sabotage.

Naminé smiled at the duck, not picking up (or ignoring) the discomfort from two of her companions. “Hello Mr. Scrooge. It's nice of you to come over here, I always like coming here for you and the food.”

“Ah, heard my name and decided to waddle on over! And it certainly warms my heart, hearing you say that,” he grinned before pointing his cane at Terra and Aqua. “If only some of you could be so complimentary. How was your little… dinner. Did betrayal taste sweet, or did it crumble like ash in your bellies?”

“It was fine,” Terra tried to stay strong under the duck’s piercing stare. “But hey look, we’re back, obviously we like this better.”

“Yes! Sometimes you just have to...try other things to remind you like something in the first place,” Aqua chimed in, putting her hands to her chest. “You know we could never stay away forever.”

“Hm,” he eyed them both critically before sniffing. “Very well, don’t want you to stop showing up, it would get quiet without the lot of you! Now, anything you want to tell me about this other restaurant. Anything at all? You know I’m all ears.”

“Nope.”

“Nothing at all.”

“Definitely not.”

“Hmm,” He narrowed his eyes at the two of them. “I see… well, if you remember anything at all, you know where to find me!”

They watched him wander off before letting out sighs of relief, turning back to the others. Naminé was smiling while Ventus had his head in his hand, looking at them.

“You guys should just bring them here next time, that way Scrooge won’t try and give you that whole spiel again,” Ventus grinned. “And that way the rest of us can snoop in on whatever it is you do when you try to get two people together. It’ll be funny to watch”

“That makes me less likely to want do that you know,” Aqua frowned.

“Yeah but think of it this way. We can give pointers, advice, and ways to improve on your matchmaking skills.”

She put a hand to her chin, looking at him curiously. “And where would you get this advice from? Have you ever tried matchmaking before?”

He opened his mouth before shutting it, looking off to the side while Naminé shook with silent laughter. “Well, no. Even I did, I definitely wouldn’t be successful.”

“Why not?”

“The people involved are really dense.”

“That's not nice to say about someone Ven,” Aqua frowned at him. “Maybe it's just a complicated thing, for them to admit their feelings.”

“Maybe, but I do think they’re just a little bit dense,” He gave her a look before shrugging, not wanting to get into it. If she didn’t get it, she didn’t get it. “But seriously. It be funny to watch you try and get those two together.”

“Maybe. Probably not. I think they’d get pretty suspicious if a bunch of people just stood around watching them at what's supposed to be an innocent dinner.”

“Could give them disguises,” Terra grinned. “They’d never recognize Ven in a mustache.”

“...maybe.”

Terra and Naminé began talking about the different kinds of disguises they could use while Ventus insisted that Terra’s first idea of a mustache couldn’t be improved upon. Aqua smiled, finishing off her cheesecake before feeling her phone buzz. Taking it out she saw there was a new set of pictures from Isa, and she began looking through them, thinking of comments to give him. Naminé’s words about how odd it was he wasn’t asking Lea swirled in her mind and she chewed on her bottom lip.

She couldn’t solve all the universe’s problems.

But she could always try and help her friends.

She was fine with taking on more work.

\--

“May I come in?”

“Adults are not allowed in here so no!”

“...Lea is in there.”

“He’s the only exception! Nothing will make me budge on this!”

“I brought ice cream.”

“You may proceed.”

Isa rolled his eyes as Hayner finally stopped blocking the entrance to the Usual Spot, ducking in and taking in the sight of everyone hanging out inside. They had all moved on from their earlier practice fight, now playing for some reason a game of Monopoly. The Twilight Town kids were heading back to school soon, and they wanted to spend as much time with their friends as possible before took up all of their time.

Still. Monopoly. Lea was already bankrupted despite it obviously being early in the game, and Isa suspected he had orchestrated events to get out of the game as quick as possible

“Ice cream,” he held out the bag to him, staying quiet about his deceit. “One each, I’ve learned from last time.”

“Aqua can’t punish all of us if we eat too much,” Lea smirked, taking out two and handing one to Isa before passing the bag along to Xion. “Thanks.”

“I don’t want to take a chance,” unwrapping the ice cream, Isa took a bite while the kids let out a cry of alarm at his terrible ice cream eating habit, Lea snickering at their outrage. He leaned over the game board, frowning. “Why Monopoly of all things?”

“It's the only game we had stored here,” Hayner shrugged, taking the ice cream passed to him and happily digging in. “We’re definitely going to die playing it though. Last time we played it lasted like, six hours, and it looks like this time will be the same.”

“Only because you refuse to trade me your Railroad,” Olette squinted at him.

“If I give it to you, you have all four! No way am I giving you that much power!”

“Hm,”Isa moved to sit down next to Lea, forcing him to move his legs so he’d fit. He couldn’t remember the last time he had played the game himself, but he knew that he wouldn’t willingly play it himself again. “I’ll bring ice cream to your funerals.”

“That's… both really nice and really mean.”

Lea watched Isa as he shrugged, chuckling at the other man. Letting everyone settle back into eating and playing the game some more he finally nudged Isa’s shoulder, pulling his friends attention back to him.. “So. Lots of dog photos today.”

“There was a lot around today. I figured you’d appreciate them.”

“I did. Still think we should steal one.”

“No.”

“Spoil sport.”

“If you really want a dog we can just buy one,” Isa rolled his eyes at Lea, ignoring his smirk.

“Yeah but that's a lot less fun.”

“And less likely to get a very sad family out for your head.”

“True, I’d feel very guilty.”

Isa wonder if Lea was going to bring up what he was doing wandering around town all day, but Lea simply nibbled on his ice cream, watching the game infront of him. He seemed content not to acknowledge it, and Isa didn’t want to either.

If they both wanted to ignore the uncomfortable conversation, then it would stay ignored.

He finished his ice cream and looked at the stick before passing it to Lea. With a raised eyebrow, the redhead looked at the Winner written displayed in proud letters and smirked, taking it and carefully wrapping it to be cleaned later. “Guess we need to add this to the collection.”

“Mm,” Isa shifted his position, resting his head on Lea’s shoulder and closing his eyes. “Wake me when the game ends. Or actually before that, I don’t actually want to sleep here overnight.”

“Uh, ok.”

Isa was aware that Lea could probably doodle on his face while he was napping, but he was going to give him the benefit of the doubt.

Lea watched him slowly relax next to him before turning away, trying not to obviously stare at his friend resting against him. Roxas and Xion though noticed, and sharing a look Roxas nodded, taking out his gummi phone and snapping a photo before Lea could even blink.

“Why?”

“Eh, you’ll thank me for this later,” Roxas smirked, sending the picture to Lea. “You’re welcome.”

“You two look very cute in it,” Xion giggled while Lea spluttered before glaring.

“You two are terrible.”

“Yeah,” Roxas grinned. “But we learned from you.”

“Oh, haha, very funny.”

Isa opened one eye, having not fallen asleep quite yet and catching Xion’s eye. She giggled at noticing that he was still listening in, and gave him a little wave that he returned with two fingers before settling back down at Lea’s side.

He could rest now, and deal with any troubles later. He wondered if Roxas would send him the photo too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nomura answer me, who is writing these kids permission slips to travel around the world. The two lines suggesting that Riku and Sora actually have parents in all of the games is not enough for me. Please Nomura. PLEASE.
> 
> Also I think the next two chapters will go a bit quicker, as I have gotten to where I can comfortably begin writing some of my more heavily planned moments. Remember kids, if you want to write a slow burn, you will be kicking yourself cause by its nature it takes forever for things to occur.


	7. Chapter 7

“Kairi?” Aqua looked into the younger girls shared room, eyes falling to the ground where the trio were huddled up together. “Ah good you’re here.”

“Hey Aqua, whats up?” Kairi, Riku, and Sora were laid out on the floor of their room, a blanket fort built from all the blankets, sheets, and pillows from their beds. They had moved the rooms tv to the floor for them to watch movies without needing to move their cuddle pile at all. It was all very cozy.

“I was wondering, could you pass on a message incase Derrick, the construction worker, comes by? He hasn’t yet and I really need to get going, I just need you to tell him what tools to bring next week.”

“Oh yeah sure,” Kairi nodded, waving a lazy hand. “Can you give me a list so I don’t like. Sign off on something we don’t need like… a bone saw.”

“We are actually going to borrow a hand saw, but I guess a bone saw is overkill,” Aqua chuckled, glancing around and spotting a blank piece of paper she could write the list down on. “This...should be...everything. Ok here you go.”

“Where are you going by the way?” Sora hadn’t moved at all since she entered, happily underneath three blankets, only his head peeking out of his cocoon. “I didn’t realize you were leaving.”

“Kind of a spur of the moment thing. Ven, Terra and I are going back home for a bit to check on things, then go to Radiant Garden, see about getting everyone ID’s.”

“Oh right, all of that stuff,” Sora had heard from Naminé the whole situation with the dance lessons. “Man I’m really glad that I don’t have to deal with all of that, it seems really boring.”

“It kind of is, but it has to be done.”

“Wait,” Riku sat up, a blanket falling off his shoulders as he frowned at Aqua. “Terra’s going with you?”

“Yeah, we decided it would be easier to look together. The castle is pretty big.”

“...excuse me,” he got up, ignoring his friends clamors that he was letting in the cold as he slipped out of the blanket fort. “I gotta go grab him before you leave.”

“Oh, ok. We’ll be leaving soon though so it has to be quick!” Aqua called after him. Riku gave a quick nod before hurrying out.

Moving from room to room, glancing in any open doors to see if Terra happened to be in one of them (Roxas tried tossing an ice cream stick at his head when he peaked in, but he moved too fast for it to land), his frown grew deeper on his face. What if he didn’t find Terra in time? It wasn’t like he wanted to confront him but it was his duty to at least make an effort.

Finally, reaching the kitchen, he peered out the window and spotted Terra getting ready to summon his glider. Jumping he quickly ran over to the door, throwing it open.

“Terra!” 

Turning at his name, Terra blinked at Riku running over to him, holding up his hands to catch him in case he couldn’t stop himself. “Hey woah, what's going on? Whats up?”

“I, uh,” Riku leaned over, putting his hands on his knees and catching his breath. “Aqua… Aqua says you’re leaving?”

“Yeah, just for two days. We’ll be back in time to help with the remodeling, don’t worry. No one’s getting extra work while we’re gone, Aqua promised.”

“No, I mean that's fine, just,” Riku swallowed, really not wanting to have this conversation. “It's been like. Three weeks. And you...still haven’t responded to Yen Sid.”

Terra’s dread, which he had been ignoring since Riku had returned, fully settled in his stomach. He had stifled the growing guilt he held towards the letter he had received from the Master, quietly hoping if he didn’t confront it, neither would Riku. Apparently, the boy had different ideas though. “Ah...yeah just. Doing other things I guess.”

“You haven’t even sent him a message acknowledging the letter,” Riku folded his arms, looking uncomfortable with the conversation. “Kairi gave it to you right? I’m not making up-”

“No, no I got it,” Terra ran a hand through his hair, sighing. “Listen… I know its not… I should’ve responded by now. But, I need to think a few things through first. I can’t… I don’t…”

Riku watched him and Terra felt at a loss for a moment. Here was the boy he had instructed to take hold of his keyblade, to one day wield and protect his friends with. Here was the boy he had wanted to inspire in the same way he and his friends were inspired, and to move towards a light he could be proud of.

And here he was, trying to come up with a flimsy excuse on why he wasn’t responding to a letter that was just offering help. Terra knew he wasn’t inspiring any grand ideals right now.

“I’ll talk to him. Later. It's just really busy right now,” he spotted Ventus walking out and swallowed, slamming his hand on the button of his keyblade armor. “I promise you Riku.”

Riku sighed, taking a step back so Terra would have space to summon his glider. He wasn’t going to try and force the issue anymore if he didn’t want to discuss it. “Ok but… its not me you should make that promise to you know.”

Terra’s face was hidden by his armor, so Riku could not see the emotions that flickered over his face. “I know. See you Riku.”

“Yeah. See you, Terra.”

\--

“Aw man I missed this place!” Ventus hurriedly turned off his keyblade armor as soon as he set down on one of the tall platforms that made up the Land of Departure, sprawling out on a patch of grass with a contented sigh. “Home always has the best places to nap”

“That's not why we’re here, lazy bones,” Aqua took her time getting down, a soft flash of light coming off her as she dismissed glider and armor. “You can’t just lay around all day.”

“Aw…”

“Although if we do find our ID’s right away, there’s no reason not to just laze about after,” Terra grinned, strolling over and holding out a hand to Ventus. “Want to race to see who finds theirs first?”

“Oh yeah!” Pulling himself up with the given hand, Ventus raced ahead before looking back at the other two. “Come on, or are you just gonna be lazy all day?”

Aqua rolled her eyes while Terra laughed, racing on after him. She took her time, trying to relax her senses to pick up anything wrong with the world.

There was always a sense of responsibility when she returned home,one that grew stronger since she had taken up Master Defender. She realized quickly that she was more attune with the place, sensing when someone came to its lands, when they left. Something lay in her heart now, a power granted to help protect the world, to warn her in case she needed to warp its structure again.

There was nothing to protect if from now, the only thing to look out for was bad weather, so she pushed the humm of magic to the back of her mind.

Ventus skidded to an ungraceful stop ahead of her, spotting a shape she could not yet see, yelling over at Terra to grab his attention. She wondered if they held the same sense of awareness towards their home now, the humm beneath their skins. They were after all Master Eraqus’ apprentice’s as well, things would spill out to all of his students undoubtedly. Or was it only those who held the Master’s Defender?

Was it only her?

“Chirithy! How are you?”

Ventus’ stop had been to greet his little friend, the largest mystery that now resided in the world. The dream eater was unnerving, both Aqua and Terra anxious over what its presence could mean, especially as Ventus immediately began calling it his friend. He never could give a good reason to as why he felt so strongly to it, and Chirithy seemed hesitant to speak up about its origins in any shape or form. 

But as it didn't seem malicious and as Aqus did not sense any darkness from it, she didn't complain about its continued presence.

"Hello Chirithy," Aqua bent down to greet it. "Any problems around here?”

"No problems at all!" He gave her a salute. "It's actually been pretty quiet here, Master Aqua. Are you finished with the remodeling already?" It seemed excited at the prospect, standing taller on its tip toes.

"No, we're just here for a little bit," she gave the little thing an apologetic smile. She knew it probably wasn’t nice, staying alone day after day in the castle.

"Oh," it drooped slightly, nodding its head. "I see, that makes sense."

"If you're feeling lonely, you can always come with us to Twilight Town!" Ventus patted him on the head. “There’s plenty of room there!”

“Ah, no, that's ok,” Chirithy shook its head, taking a few steps back from the head pats. “I think I’ll stay here. That way you have someone watching over things while you’re gone!”

“Ah, ok…” Ventus frowned, but didn’t push. 

Aqua shared a look with Terra. Since Chirithy’s appearance, none of them could remember it leaving the Land of Departure, whatever power that brought it to this world apparently a one way trip. Why they were so content to stay there though, even alone, was beyond Aqua, another mystery to wonder about.

She knew it wanted to protect Ventus. Was this its way of doing so, by protecting his home?

“Well, while we’re here, we’ll have to have dinner together,” Aqua folded her arms, squinting up at the castle. “Although nothing too fancy, don’t have a lot of time to cook…”

“Oh!” Chirithy perked back up, jumping to drag attention back to him. “I can cook, I’ve been practicing! You can do...what is it you’re here for?”

“Our IDs,” Aqua smiled. “If they’re still around here. Our possessions have been a bit hit and miss in being where we left them before Castle Oblivion.”

“Ohh,” Chirithy nodded, and Terra got the sensation that it didn’t know what an ID actually was. “Well, I hope you find them! I’ll start making dinner for us then, I can’t wait to eat together!”

Ven waved as the little dream eater spun and disappeared, its unique form of teleportation undoubtedly taking it straight to the kitchen. Aqua tried not to worry too much and instead just take for granted that they had another friend in their lives. “Well, at least Chirithy is doing alright… come on, we should start looking so we make it on time for dinner.

Ventus sighed, following Aqua with dragging feet, his initial excitement at being home fading away to the memory of having to search and undoubtedly clean his room. “What if they’re not here? My room was a mess last time I checked.”

“It could also be in Master Eraqus’ study, which I’ll be checking too,” Aqua pushed a lock of hair back. “If its not there, then we’ll just get new ones along with everyone else. Not that big of a deal.”

“I wish we could just. Not need IDs. People should just believe who we are.”

“Right, like that won’t go wrong at some point. Especially for you, with a literal twin running around out there,” Terra ruffled Ventus’ hair. “Just think, once we get this settled, we’ll literally not have to think of it again. Unless you lose it.”

“Hm… I guess so.”

Their rooms were all in the same wing, unchanged from their days of study and training. Splitting up, they each headed into their own, to look through items and furniture that had been left standing lonely for nearly a decade. When they first moved back in, it had taken time to realize that things weren’t exactly as they had left it. Some things had gone missing, and there was new messes thanks to the shifting walls of Castle Oblivion. It quickly became clear that it would be an ongoing mess to clean.

Slipping in her room, Aqua switched on the light, looking around. She had lived in it for all of her life, and besides some minor adjustments, it hadn’t changed much. A desk replaced an old toy chest, and her bookshelf went through several changes of what it held. Most of her metal and glass working tools were set aside in an appropriate work room, as it was much safer to work there then in a small bedroom. On her desk there was still pieces from different projects she had considered doing before, some failed attempts to make her wayfinders.

Last time she had made anything was before the Mastery Exam.

It was hard to sit still, thinking of what she wanted to make.

Opening the desk drawers she went through each one, pushing aside old homework and little knick knacks that had been gathered over the years. Eventually, she found the folder filled with her identification papers, given to her when Master Eraqus entrusted her to be responsible with it on her own.

“I am always here for you, but it is important that you learn how to take care of yourself” he had placed a hand gently on her shoulder, smiling as she beamed back at him in pride. “I trust you can handle this.”

She shut the drawer with a snap, flipping open the folder and paging through it carefully. Everything was there as she left it, although the papers did look more aged then she remembered. She wondered vaguely if someone was going to bother questioning why it listed her birthdate as one thing, when she clearly was a decade younger still.

Oh well. No one would be looking too closely at the peculiarities of her life. And she was a keyblade master; if they bothered her about it, she had experience and presence to dissuade their probing.

Placing the folder on her bed to remember to take later, she left her room, walking towards Ventus’ and leaning against his door. “Hey Ven? Any luck?”

“No,” For some reason, he was under his bed, squirming around under there in search of something. “I had this old box of important things, it might be in there? But it won’t come on out…”

“Need any help?”

“No… I don’t even really think it's in here. Just double checking you know?”

“Yeah. Let me know, I’m gonna check the office for now,” she waved as she walked out. Glancing in Terra’s room, she noted he was missing, but he had a similar folder as hers on his desk, so she figured he had found his quickly and had simply wandered off to the kitchens.

That was fine. She wanted to check the office on her own anyways.

It was a bit of a walk, as Master Eraqus’ rooms were on the other side of the castle. When they were younger, he used a spare room to stay near in case of night terrors, but his main rooms were always secluded and far away, fitting for a steward of the Land of the Departure. He could work there without worrying about interruption, although it was always easy for his students to rush over there and grab his attention, his door at least always open to him.

One door though, stayed close and private, although that was fine to the young, rambunctious students. His office wasn’t as interesting as the training room, or his own bedroom that had all sorts of items from past adventures. The clerical part of being a keyblade master wasn’t glamorous enough to draw in the attention of students who wanted to focus on only the exciting parts.. 

When they had returned, the door had been locked, just as it had been before. None of them chose to unlock it, leaving it as one of the rooms that went untouched in their care. Terra was uncertain if they even could, noting that Master Eraqus probably made sure the room was secured against even keyblades. There was important documents in there that he wouldn’t want just anyone reading.

But Aqua knew she could open the door, if there was some special kind of lock on it. After all, if this was a door that did require a specific key, Eraqus had willingly bequeathed it to her.

Summoning her keyblade, she pointed Stormfall at the keyhole, letting out a slow breath of air as she focussed. She had gotten used to Master’s Defender, the keyblade responding just as strongly to her as her original, utilizing its unique properties to the best of her abilities. But there was a great relief in her heart when she was able to recover her own keyblade, the apprentices of Ansem happily showing her the room that held it. She could never fully consider the Master’s Defender as hers, it was simply a necessary step to take. Stormfall would always be hers, a perfect extension of her heart.

She did still retain the abilities from the Master Defender’s, a relief as she had given it up for Eraqus’ grave. She’d prefer to let this last part of her Master rest in peace, to no longer be used in neverending battles. It would’ve soured things if she would be forced to hold onto it for the good of the world.

Channeling her power, she let the energy flow into the keyhole, opening the door with a click just as she assumed it would. Pushing open the door, she looked inside, trying to pick out familiar shapes.

It was… dark. The windows had large, heavy curtains, blocking out the inviting sunlight from outside, and she felt her skin crawl at the exaggerated shadows, inching their way to her. Quickly, she felt around on the wall, swallowing as she couldn’t remember where the switch was before bumping into it. Flicking it on, she released a sigh of relief as the ceiling light lit up the room, banishing the shadows away (to return later a small part of her whispered, deep inside). Lit up, the room lost its intimidating presence, becoming just a simple room, used for necessity rather then want. There was a large desk, several bookcases filled to the brim and looking like it would burst. The chair looked as if it was specifically chosen to encourage its owner to leave the room as much as possible.

Eraqus had not belonged behind a desk, in her personal opinion.

Wandering in, she glanced at the titles of the books, recognizing a few from her studies, and a few others she could only imagine were rather dry based on what she knew of the authors. Occasionally, there was several folders of files, and she glanced at a few of them, seeing if any names stood out to her, but there was nothing of note.

She knew it would have to be at his desk. They were his students, he would keep anything about them in easy reach, ready at a moments notice.

But that felt like a breach of privacy, more than unlocking the door. Rifling through his desk felt wrong, and she wished she could ask for permission before diving in.

But he was gone now. And this room couldn’t just stay still for eternity.

Pulling out the chair, she gently sat down, opening the top drawer. It was surprisingly neat, carefully organized writing paper and pens, and she quickly closed it to move onto the next. This one was filled with files on different worlds that he was keeping an eye on, notes on different missions that would need to be held. She wondered what had happened to these plans, if it was better or worse that they were never enacted.

The third drawer was the messier one of the bunch, and obviously used as a more personal storage. It seemed that whenever he was uncertain where to put something away, it would be added to the stack of papers, and Aqua smiled at seeing a napkin with some scrawled out notes included in the bunch.

But it still didn’t hold anything that would suggest it would be helpful towards her search, so she closed it, moving to the other set of desk drawers and opening them.

It was of course, the last one she checked that held the lockbox, a simple thing with Eraqus name engraved upon it. She took it out, turning it around in her hands before placing it in front of her on the desk. Unlike the door, it didn’t have any apparent keyhole on it, and almost seemed completely solid, except that when she shook it she could hear things shifting inside. Frowning, she pushed a lock of hair back before summoning her keyblade and tapping the top.

Might as well try it. Chests did have a habit of opening by just the motion of tapping them with a keyblade, perhaps this would be the same.

Her guess was right on the munny, and her eyes widened slightly as the symbol that she, Terra, Ventus, and Eraqus all wore brightened on its lid. There was a click, the top opening enough for her to fold it open further and peer inside of its contents. Was it a specific spell that only let Eraqus and his students open it?

It made her feel uneasy, that something that clearly he protected to keep private was now laid bare in front of her.

There wasn’t a lot inside, but she could feel the importance of every item inside. One was a document declaring Eraqus as steward of the Land of Departure, signatures upon it from people Aqua never heard of and probably now would never meet. Underneath that was two identical sheets of paper, detailing Aqua and Terra’s apprenticeship, and Aqua felt a pang at realizing that one was never written up for Ventus. Eraqus’ secret concerns obviously made him disregard normal procedures when dealing with her younger friend. He did have documents of guardianship for all three next to that, and she took them out, relieved she had at least found what she wanted to look for.

Besides that, there was two chess pieces, one black and one white, and she wondered where the rest of the set had gotten too. There was also a small, misshapen glass flower that she recognized as one of her first creations, kept secured next to a small carved keyblade that resembled a crude form of a keyblade, Terra’s name shakily scrawled on it.

Memento’s of a happier time.

And finally was a large envelope, with a date written on it that she realized with a start had been right after her Mastery exam. Inside was three smaller envelopes and a final seperate piece of paper, written in the familiar clean handwriting of Eraqus. Placing the envelopes to the side, she looked at the paper, reading over it quietly.

It was a will, or at least as close as Eraqus would ever, giving a few details on what things would need to be taken care of in case of his absence. She wondered if there was a previous version, or if he had felt the end coming and had written it up only just then, ready to face his fate.

The ending lines caught her attention, and she read them over several times.

 

_ And in case of my prolonged disappearance, I hand over my duties to my student, Master Aqua, as she and I discussed. She will take over as steward of the Land of Departure and continue the school I have instated here. My other student, Terra will assist her in these duties, and I ask Yen Sid to evaluate him in my place for Mastery. I also entrust to the both of them, my other student, Ventus, to ensure the continued balance of the worlds. _

 

What discussion? Was it the secrets he had told her, the ability to change the world around them in case of emergency? Or was he going to speak to her later, this written with the expectation he would still have time to explain everything to her. And the part about Ventus chilled her, knowing what balance he spoke of and the steps that he thought would have to be taken.

She respected and trusted her Master’s decisions in life. But she could never agree with his actions towards Ventus, even if it was in a misguided attempt to protect the universe. Even if he had paid for it in the end.

Rubbing her face, she put the paper down, sighing. She didn’t need to read this, in fact she was almost tempted to take these papers and pass it on to Yen Sid, to get his perspective on what needed to be done with his last words. And the business of being a steward was still a confusing one, and while he did state that he handed the duties over to her, it probably wasn’t as simple as that.

Could she ignore Master Eraqus’ wishes for now, since she didn’t fully understand them?

Her eyes wandered to the smaller envelopes, curiosity getting the better of her, and she picked them up, carefully going through each one, her eyes softening slightly. One had Terra’s name, another Ventus, and finally her own. A separate message for each of them, carefully locked away in a box that they’d only open if he was gone.

Putting aside the other letters (they weren’t for her after all) she took hers, ripping it carefully open, unfolding the letter and beginning to read. Much like his will, it was written after her mastery, and she wondered what other events had spurred him on to write updated versions of these documents.

 

_ Aqua- _

_ I don’t believe I can ever express how proud I am at you reaching your goal of Mastery. I have always believed in you, and knew you would reach this day, but seeing you now with this title is a wholly different thing. You will understand what I feel yourself one day, once you have students of your own. _

_ I know we did not agree on my refusal to also grant Terra the title of Master, but I have watched both of you since you were young. You both are so dedicated, but Terra’s ego gets the better of him, making him more open to the dark. I simply temper him, let him reflect on himself and his faults before giving him a title he believes to be a sign of perfection. I’m sure though, that you will prove me wrong about my assumptions of his character, and when you are home once again your dreams will be fulfilled, and I will be able to proudly say two of my students are now Masters. _

_ But as you are my only student I can call Master, I must take steps to ensure that things are in place, that my responsibilities continue no matter the events to come. I am not writing this with the expectation that this will be necessary, but if you are reading this now then, well. It has become necessary. _

_ The Land of Departure always requires a steward, to keep watch over its lands and help those who live here. The balance of light and dark is an exhausting one, and it is a job I did not take till a long time after my golden years. It is a thankless job, and an isolated one, but one that must be done. I entrust in you, Aqua, to ensure that it is fulfilled fully to your ability. At this time I have already gifted you the ability to shape the lands of our home, and while I haven’t explained it fully, this ability will also assist you in the other parts of these duties. _

_ I would like you to also continue to keep watch over Terra and Ventus. Continue to lead Terra to Mastery, although I’m sure he’s nearly there. I am sure he will make us both proud, and he belongs in the action of traveling to worlds and assisting them in the ongoing battle against darkness. _

_ As for Ventus… _

_ I will be clear here, although I still wish to hide from you this knowledge. Ventus was brought to me by Xehanort, explaining the details of our dear boy’s existence. He is one part of the 𝑥-blade, a powerful keyblade with the ability to open Kingdom Hearts. This is something that can never happen, as whoever possesses the 𝑥-blade will have the ability to rewrite our world. I suspect that Xehanort did not wander across this boy accidentally, and orchestrated events, so do not trust him when it comes to Ventus, even though he is my oldest friend. _

_ I entrust to you to ensure that the creation of the 𝑥-blade never comes. It is cruel, but it must be done, and while I care for Ventus as a son, steps must be taken for the good of all. Stay vigilant that he never fights his darker half, who I’m sure is somewhere out there. And if he ever learns about his destiny or begins to move towards it, please. Take the option that is the best for the world, even if it is one that will make you hate me for asking of you. _

_ Forgive me. For asking you all this and revealing this troubling information of your dear friend. I hope that the time will not come to pass where you will read this letter, and it will join the ashes of my fireplace. _

_ Once again Aqua, I am so proud of you. I know you will make an amazing steward, even though I wished you would’ve had more years as a keyblade master before I handed you the title. Please do not think of it as a burden, but as a mark towards your brilliance. _

_ I love you, my daughter. May your heart be your guiding key. _

_ Eraqus. _

 

Aqua felt tears held heavily in her lashes, but they did not fall as she stared dumbly at the letter. The last words from Eraqus to her, words that filled her with a mixture of emotions. Joy, at knowing she held the respect of her Master. Sadness, at knowing he was gone. Anger, at what he asked of her for Ventus and how he would willingly force her to make that choice.

And fear. Fear of the responsibilities he gave her, the title of steward. He called it an isolated job, lonely, and she could see in her mind’s eye what he expected of her in taking it up. It felt like she didn’t even have a choice, that she couldn’t try any of her ideas of splitting up responsibilities. Would she eventually have to dedicate herself to staying fully in the Land of Departure, never leaving the world much like Eraqus did, unable to travel due to duties greater then her?

Would she be isolated and alone, just like Chirithy, waiting for her friends to return from a life separate from her?

Would this office be hers one day, with all the lights on to ensure the shadows didn’t creep in?

Would she slowly change chairs, from uncomfortable to more and more comfortable, as she would spend more and more of her time inside?

She shouldn’t question his words. It was her duty, her responsibility, one she agreed to long ago when she first became an apprentice. Being a keyblade wielder did not mean she could always choose to do what she wanted. Instead she had to do what was better for the rest. She had to choose the others over herself, she had to-

Dropping her head in her hands, she curled up on herself in the chair, staring wide eyed as the ground as the sound disappeared around her and she just...stared. She felt the letter drop from her hands, it slowly sinking to the floor, but she couldn’t even begin the thought to pick it up before it got trampled on.

All she could think was the silence and chill the halls of the castle would gain once she was alone again. As her friends left her and she once again couldn’t hold on.

All she could think was how, in the right light, her home would feel as cold and lonesome as the great, everlasting dark that her last decade held.

\--

Terra brushed a few leaves away, putting them in a pile to the side to toss away later, before leaning back on his feet from his crouched position, staring quietly at Eraqus’ grave in front of him. Clearly, Chirithy had been making sure to keep it clean while they were gone, but it made him feel useful to do it himself. He made sure the flowers were fresh and that the wayfinders were carefully arranged, gently touching his old one with a smile.

The grave was in a beautiful spot, overlooking the Land of Departure, away from anything that would break up the peaceful silence. He knew it didn’t really matter, but he hoped this place would stay like this forever.

Clearing his throat, he looked back at Master’s Defender, hesitating before shaking his head. No one was around, and even if anyone came up on him, they would understand that sometimes...sometimes he just wanted to talk to Eraqus.

“Hello Master… sorry, this is a bit weird but um… things are good here. Ven is really growing up, I think he might be in for a growth spurt soon. And Aqua well. You’d be so impressed by her,” He smiled widely. “She’s really taken charge of things, getting everything together for everyone, she’s a one woman army. She’s amazing to watch, I can’t help but wishing I could be more like her. But I’m pretty content just continuing to stand by her side.”

He stared off into space, trying to formulate words before sighing.

“I’m ok… I mean, not really, I’ve been avoiding some things but,” he clenched his fist. “I don’t know how to confront it. My darkness. Maybe if I just ignore it, continue pushing it down, and it won’t be a problem anymore. I’m being careful, holding back in training so it doesn’t come out again like last time…”

He put his head in his hand. “Every time I think about doing something more… I freeze. I know people want to help me but maybe...maybe I don’t deserve that. I should be able to do this on my own. I have to…”

The grave was quiet, wind gently lifting the leaves of the flowers on it and he sighed. Talking was nice, but it would probably be nicer if someone could talk back.

“Um, Terra?”

He jumped, turning to see Chirithy peering around a wall corner, seeming hesitant to interrupt the scene. He raised an eyebrow, standing up with exaggerated care.

“Hey Chirithy, is dinner ready already?”

“Uh, no, I’m still working on it. I actually wanted to get you but noticed you were...having a moment and I didn’t want to interrupt…” The little thing actually looked embarrassed at wandering in, and Terra smiled.

“Its ok, didn’t say anything super embarrassing. Why did you want to get me? Need me to reach a pot?”

“No, I can handle that,” the thing shook its head, shuffling closer. “Its Aqua.”

“Aqua?” He paused, trying to guess why she had inspired the dream eater to find him. “What about her?”

“Well uh… usually I only notice when Ven is upset about something,” Chirithy waved his arms and Terra nodded. The two were oddly connected and that made sense based on their interactions. “But I can pick up on other people if their emotions are strong enough. And I uh...noticed a little bit ago…”

Terra felt his body go stiff at the idea that Chirithy sensed something bad from Aqua. “Where is she?”

“I think she’s near your old Master’s rooms? I didn’t think I should be the one to check on her, we aren’t really close and...I’m just worried.”

Terra nodded, patting the dream eater on the head before heading off in a sprint, not bothering to say anything more.

Aqua was always ok. Just like he had said to Eraqus’ grave, he always so impressed by how well she handled things. It was a constant, the fact that she was ok and could handle things better than anyone else. When Ven fell asleep, she handled it, making sure he was safe, safer than anyone ever had been. When he fell to the darkness, she had saved him, continuing to light up his way and keeping his will lingering on.

She was strong, stronger than him. And he liked (was that the wrong word?) that so much about her.

Her not being ok meant something must truly be wrong, and it was something he hadn’t noticed.

He should’ve noticed if she was suffering. It was the least he could do for her, his oldest friend.

Sliding to a stop in Eraqus’ old rooms, he looked around till he spotted the office door was open, quickly running in and looking for her.

She was seated behind the large desk, staring up at the light with a bit of a glassy look in her eyes. He could tell she was doing one of their breathing exercises, her chest rising and falling to some beat she was counting out. She didn’t seem to be aware that he had just burst in, and that made him even more worried.

Ever since they reunited, he had noticed that she was twitchy at the smallest sound, and she had mentioned off handedly it was just due to the habit she formed from living in the Realm of Darkness for so long.

Carefully stepping around the desk, he moved in front of her, hoping she would register him so she wouldn’t get surprised. Her eyes slid over for him and for a moment, he felt like she was seeing right through him.

Then her eyes cleared and she straightened up in her chair, blinking rapidly. “Terra,” Her voice sounded like someone had attacked it with sandpaper, and she gave a quick cough, wincing at the sound. “Sorry did you say something?”

“No, nothing,” he watched as she seemed to be pulling herself together before crouching down so they were at eye level, gently reaching out a hand.

She flinched and his hand froze.

They stared at each other for half a minute, neither moving till he completed the movement, laying a hand on her cheek. She was still tense, but she pushed herself into his hand, closing her eyes.

“Aqua. Are you ok?”

“Yes. I’m fine,” she didn’t open her eyes.

“You don’t...seem fine.”

“I was just having a moment. Its ok, it's over now though,” she gave a soft smile, one that he returned although she couldn’t see it.

She still didn’t open her eyes.

“Did something happen? Did you find something in here?” he glanced at the desktop, seeing the spread of papers and envelopes. One had been fallen to the ground and he assumed that it was responsible for her current state. “What did you read?”

“Nothing, just a letter from Eraqus,” she moved quickly, pulling from his hand to grab the paper, folding it up and placing it back in its envelope. “You have on too, and Ven as well. I...almost want to read his first before giving it to him though, make sure there’s nothing in there that will upset him.”

“Upset him...like yours upset you?”

Aqua stilled for a moment and Terra shifted himself closer, trying to get her to look him in the eye, but she refused. “Aqua…”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“You have to, some time.”

“Oh yeah?” She laughed, a harsh sound that was forced through her lips. “What would you do, if something you read made you act like...this. Would you talk about it?”

For a moment he wanted to say yes, he would talk about it, he would go to her immediately, but he knew the truth.

He wouldn’t.

He knew he wouldn’t, his refusal to tell her about Yen Sid’s summons evidence of that. He would keep it locked up and try and deal with it on his own, because that's what was expected of him. He had to be able to figure it out, had to be able to move on.

Had to be like Aqua, the perfect ideal.

But here she was, struggling with that ideal, and if his time trapped by Xehanort had taught him anything, that believing in perfect ideals was a fool’s fantasy. No one was perfect, they only had what they could do and nothing more.

And if Aqua couldn’t do something she needed too because she thought that he wouldn’t either well… he would prove her wrong. He would try and do what she did for him every day for once.

She deserved the world, and he would try and give it to her.

“I wouldn’t want to,” his words were slow as he took her hand, rubbing gentle circles in her palm, trying to get her to relax. “But I think I would, eventually. Probably because you’d drag it out of me.”

“I wouldn’t-”

“Yes you would,” he fixed her with a look before smiling. “I appreciate that part of you Aqua. Its… inspiring.”

“I’m...I’m not… no,” she gave a weak laugh.

“You are,” he nodded. “In fact, I’ll prove it to you, I’ll do something that's hard. I’ll… I’m going to go to Yen Sid, to ask for some help with my...darkness problem.”

“You are?” she blinked at him curiously, hair falling into her face and he was almost tempted to push it back for her.

“Yeah. He invited me, earlier, to see if we could figure out a way for me to handle it. I guess I’ve been putting it off but… it will help me. Even if it's hard to do.”

She looked at him finally, with a frown. “That seems… completely different from whats going on with me. It's much more important, you going to do that.”

“Maybe. But I think it connects back to us avoiding things,” he sighed softly. “I can’t make you talk about whatever is going on, Aqua. But please, please don’t keep it in forever. I’m going to try and do somethings I really don’t want to. Think you could eventually join me in trying that? Just once, one day?”

She was quiet, eyes falling down to their clasped hands and watching the gentle circles of his thumb. He simply waited, not wanting to rush her, just wanting to be there for her, and hopefully nudge her in a good direction.

“You promise you’re going to Yen Sid?”

“Yeah.”

“When?”

He felt a bit of discomfort, but if he could help Aqua, he would handle any dread that came his way. “When we get back. I have to talk to Riku about it first, and then I’ll go to him. So, basically right away.”

“Ok,” she closed her eyes, leaning her head against his shoulder. “That's good. That’s good. I’m glad you’re getting help.”

“Yeah, I am,” he shifted to wrap his arm around her, rubbing her back. “So you know. You should do the same. You don’t have to right away but. I’m here for you Aqua. No matter what.”

“I know. Thanks Terra.”

“No problem.”

They sat like that, her leaning against him while he rubbed her back, waiting till she pulled away. It seemed she didn’t want to, and after several minutes passed he began wondering if she had fallen asleep against him, the exhaustion of whatever emotions were running through her knocking her out.

“There you guys are, I couldn’t find my ID so I think it's officially- woah uh,” Ventus hesitated in the doorway as both looked up at him, trying to gauge what the emotional temperature was in the room. “Are you guys having a moment? Should I go?”

“No, don’t go Ven,” Aqua pulled herself out of Terra’s arms (why did he feel cold once she left?), giving him a weak smile. “Just was having a hug session.”

“Oh,” he shuffled at the door. “Uh, I don’t know what its about, but if you need hugs, you know I’ll join in.”

“That would be nice,” Terra looked at Aqua. “Well?”

“Yeah,” her smile grew on her face. “More hugs would be nice.”

Ventus hurried over, throwing his arms around both Aqua and Terra, pulling them into a tight circle. Aqua put his head under her chin, closing her eyes and humming in contentment while Terra held onto the both of them, listening to them breathe.

He hoped that Aqua would speak up about whatever it was in the letter had upset her. He didn’t want her to suffer alone. And if he inspired her to speak up by doing something he didn’t want to then well.

He had no choice but to act.

For Aqua and Ventus, he would do anything. Nothing, not even him, was ever allowed to hurt them ever again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holds up Chirithy like "What do I do with you, you little weirdo."
> 
> This was both a really easy chapter to write and a cautious one. I'm honestly surprised how quickly I got it out and set up, I'm already a good chunk into writing the next chapter which hasn't happened since the first chapters I posted. There's a lot of stuff I want to deal with each of these characters struggles in acclimating to life again, and show how each pair leans on one another in these struggles.
> 
> Also dang no Isa or Lea at all, imagine they're like. Having an ice cream eating contest while this is going on, Isa berserked to victory.


	8. Chapter 8

“You know, if we’re going to keep having these weird video calls, you should get us a bigger camera or something,” Lea grumbled, holding up his phone so his companions could see as well.

Ienzo gave a shrug on the screen, his image shaking as he tried to balance his gummi phone so he didn’t need to juggle it with his clipboard. “I believe there’s some issues with cross compatibility, the app we are using wouldn’t work as well if it was trying to connect to two different devices. I’m not so sure myself, as I didn’t make the things myself. Bring it up with Chip and Dale, they’d be the ones to ask.”

“You know what, maybe I will.”

“You do that,” seeming to finally find the perfect placement for his phone, Ienzo leaned back, giving the screen a nod. “There, all set. We can begin.”

Terra’s head appeared in view next to Ienzo, squinting curiously at the phone. Lea suddenly had the thought that this may be his first time seeing this specific function, and that they really should have a tutorial session for some of their more technologically challenged friends.

“Hey everyone. Is this working?” Terra reached out to tap the screen only to have Ienzo pull his hand back.

“It was working during the five minutes it took Ienzo to get the right angle. Say hi everyone.”

Everyone was himself, Roxas, Xion, Naminé and Isa, crowded around to try their best to see the tiny screen. They had gathered in Lea and Isa’s shared room at the bed and breakfast after getting a message from Terra asking them for a chat; apparently they had figured the rough details out on what to do about identification papers and now just needed to iron it all out.

Both Roxas and Xion were leaning against Lea’s back, chins on his shoulders as they watched the screen grinned in unison, chiming out, “Hi everyone…”

“Oh good, you’ve been training them,” Isa said blandly while they cackled, Lea grinning in pride.

“Maybe. Good job guys, sufficiently creepy,” he held up his hands so they could give him two high fives.

Isa rolled his eyes as Naminé giggled on the opposite side of Lea, both crowding in as close as they could. While they had laughed off Lea’s complaints of a small camera, they were beginning to see the validity in them.

“So, what did you figure out?” Isa tried to lean further into view, but his attempt was quickly halted as Roxas tugged his head back by a strand of hair. “ _Ow.”_

“Sorry,” he smirked in a way that made him think he wasn’t that sorry at all. “You’re too tall, I can’t see when you do that.”

“Ironic, considering who you’re leaning against,” Ienzo smiled, earning a bark of laughter from Lea.

“Seriously though,” Lea propped his head up on his free hand, elbow on his knee. “Are we going to continue being weirdly outside of the system? I personally don’t mind too much if so, I can handle the crime lifestyle.”

Terra made a face while Ienzo shook his head. “No, we have all of the necessary paperwork here to ensure all of you will have the identification you need as you move about the worlds. Lea, Isa, we’ve determined getting yours will be the easiest, as we have to simply declare the both of you...not dead anymore.”

Both men blinked while the kids exchanged looks. Isa crouched down so he could peer at the screen. “We were declared dead?”

“Everyone who previously inhabited the castle here was,” Even stuck his head in, peering at the screen with a frown. “Understandable, considering the destruction all those years ago. And not completely off the mark, as we did technically all die. Several times in fact.”

Lea tried not to make a face, but couldn’t quite help it. No amount of apologies would make up for the gleeful way Axel had taken Vexen out, and that guilt weighed heavily on him. He wished he could run away, but with everyone crowding around, there was nowhere to go but stare into the screen with Even’s frowning face. “Oh. Right. Yeah. Sorry.”

“Hmph,” Even stared at Lea for a few moments before turning his head to look elsewhere. “Water under the bridge and all, it doesn’t matter now. It will be a relatively easy procedure, considering that here in Radiant Garden it is not out of the norm for long missing people to turn back up. I-Aeleus don’t touch that! You’re going to break it! Don’t you give me that look!”

The older scientist raced out of the camera frame and Ienzo gave a small shrug while Terra watched him leave in concern. “The rest of us already worked out our own documentation, we just never got to yours as you two never stayed here long enough for it to come up.”

“Ah,” Isa and Lea shared a look before looking back at the screen. “Our bad?”

Ienzo shrugged again. “It's really not a big deal, we really did it here for formality.”

“But because of that, we know how to set it up for you guys,” Terra folded his arms over his chest. “Just come by sometime, get it all filled out and officiated, and you’ll be done.”

“Got it. What about the half-pints?” Lea pointed at Roxas and Xion, then realizing he didn’t have another hand to point at Naminé, nudged Isa to lend him an extra one. “I’m pretty sure they can’t do like us and just go ‘hey don’t worry, not dead anymore’.”

“No, it does get a bit more complicated there,” Ienzo flipped a page on his clipboard, evaluating a written list on it. “Birth certificate, birthdates, parental lineage, etcetera etcetera, all the things that would normally make up identification is obviously missing due to your unique situations, Roxas, Xion, Naminé,” he nodded at each of their names. “Master Ansem suggested that we should simply fill those out as close to your real world connections. Do the three of you remember when you were created?”

“Uh?” The three kids shared a look. Naminé put her fingers to her chin, thinking.

“I know Roxas and I were made at the same time, but I couldn’t say the exact day.”

“And Xion came a week after me,” Roxas nodded. “But uh, I don’t remember when. I was kind of a zombie then. Axel?”

“Jeez, I hardly remember my own birthday,” he made a face, thinking back. “I could get an approximate month probably?”

“I know the date,” everyone looked at Isa, who gave a self conscious shrug. “I was the Organization coordinator, I had to keep track of details like that.”

“That's reassuring, Even was pretty certain, but his notes get a bit scattered, so having someone to confirm details will be helpful,” Ienzo put his hand to his chin. “Those can be your birthdays, and your birth year will be the same as Sora and Kairi to be on the safe side of things.”

“Uh sure,” Xion shrugged. “That's fine I guess. Do we need anything else?”

“Well we need your fingerprints and signatures as well, a few personal choices like pronouns and such, but you’ll do that when you come here. The only thing left who will be your guardians, since you are all still underage…”

“Oh, that's like, a parent right?” Roxas looked quizzically at Ienzo. “I don’t think we can make up one of those…”

“It doesn’t have to be a parent, they’re just considered the norm,” Terra waved a hand. “A guardian can be any adult that takes care of you. Like, Aqua and I just signed ourselves as Ven’s guardians on his paperwork since we’ve been together for years anyways. I think we’re listed as his… adopted siblings?”

“Something like that,” Ienzo shrugged. “The exact title is not important, just that you take on the responsibilities tied with it. As this is a unique situation, Master Ansem decided that the three of you stating who you want listed as your guardians would be the best option here.”

Naminé felt herself curling in on herself, quiet as she looked at the floor, thinking about the adults she knew and which one she would possibly be ok with calling her guardian. It was rather unfortunate that the list mainly included missing, possibly still evil Organization members, and Ansem. Lea was also an option, but she wasn’t as close to him as he was with Roxas and Xion, and she was unsure if he’d even be interested in signing on for her.

As if hearing her thoughts, Roxas pointed at Lea. “Then Axel yeah? He’s an adult, and he takes care of me and Xion. He’s kind of already our guardian.”

“Yeah,” Xion nodded quickly. “He fits perfectly!”

“What?” Lea was blinking rapidly, looking back them with barely hidden alarm in his eyes. “They’re making it sound like a simple thing, but this is a big deal you know! You can’t just change who you want to be your guardian later on, you’ll be stuck with me unless you go through some, weird legal nonsense thing!”

“Why would we want to change it?” Xion frowned at him. “Do you...not want to be our guardian?”

“No! Wait no, I mean, I,” he rubbed his neck, looking towards Isa. “A little help here?”

“Don’t look at me,” Isa smirked at him. “You’re the one who always picks up strays.”

“Oh thanks,” Lea rolled his eyes before looking down at his lap, still rubbing his neck.

“If you don’t want to Axel, its ok…” Roxas was frowning though, and Lea sighed.

“It's not that I don’t want to I just… I just don’t want you guys to regret choosing me down the road… I mean, you know I’m not always, good at taking care of you guys. Remember secret week?”

“Please do not redo secret week,” Xion patted his head. “But we know all that, and we’re still your friends. We want you around Axel, and we want you to be our guardian, although I don’t think that's going to really change things. We trust you.”

He continued rubbing his neck. “I… I dunno if I deserve that.”

The two were quiet before flinging their arms around him tightly, causing him to squawk in surprise, nearly toppling over. As it was, his gummi phone was flung out of his hand, both Naminé and Isa trying to catch it before it shattered on the floor.

“Too bad, we decided,” Roxas sniffed. “We already forgave you for all the jerky things you did.”

“And if you do jerky things again, we’ll beat you up,” Xion nodded, squeezing him tight. “But like. We’re all going to stay together now, so that's not going to happen. I believe it.”

“Yeah, you can’t escape us!”

Lea was blinking rapidly, his eyes gaining a glossy sheen to them as he swallowed with difficulty. “Ok...ok fine, you win jeez. I didn’t even want to escape you half-pints in the first place so...there.”

“...what kind of comeback is that?”

Isa managed to right the phone back up, seeing the confused faces of Ienzo and Terra staring back at him. “I think you can safely put Lea down as Roxas’ and Xion’s guardian.”

“Honestly, I was expecting that,” Ienzo smiled, writing a note down on his clipboard. “Naminé? What about you, you’ve been rather quiet there.”

“Oh, uh,” she fiddled with the sleeves of her cardigan (it was nice owning more clothes than just a simple white dress), shaking her head. “I don’t… I don’t know. I don’t think anyone I’d choose would want… I mean, I don’t want to be a bother and choose someone uninterested in it.”

Ienzo frowned while Isa gave her a sideways glance. It was unfortunate, her situation that had kept her so isolated and the verbal abuse that had twisted her self perception. But neither of them had a way to relieve this current concern of hers.

Terra was the one to speak up, running a hand through his hair. “If you’re uncertain Naminé, why not myself or Aqua? We can do what Master Eraqus did when he took us in, say you’re our apprentice and that's why we’re your guardian.”

“I uh,” she put her hands together, trying to think on how to properly respond. “I don’t have a keyblade.”

“Well I mean, we’d be blurring the details a bit but,” Terra shrugged. “It doesn’t have to be a perfect thing. But I’m willing to sign on for you, and I know Aqua would be too.”

Naminé continued fiddling with her sleeves, uncertain if to accept the offer or not. Would it be rude to refuse? Or would she be taking advantage of his kindness by accepting?

Lea lifted his head from where he was still being clung to by the other kids, frowning as Naminé seemed to get lost in thought.

He remembered watching over Naminé in Castle Oblivion, rationalizing why he should let her escape, and then when they met again after he had lost both Roxas and Xion, the sadness she held at slowly being forgotten and obsolete.

If he had believed he had a heart then, he would’ve been sad for her. Now, he knew he was.

“Hey.”

She jumped as he laid a hand gently on top of her hair, ruffling it gently. “Don’t think too hard on this. You can say anyone’s name right now, they’ll be happy to be your guardian. You’re not a burden, Naminé.”

She stared at him with wide eyes before smiling warmly at him. “Thanks Lea...you’re sweet.”

“Oh uh,” he pulled his hand back, making a grimace. “Each of you are really going to say that huh?”

“Hm?”

“Nothing.”

“Ok,” she gave him a confused look before looking back at Ienzo and Terra. ”Thank you for the offer, but I… I think Lea would be a better choice. We are all going to be living in the mansion together anyways, so I guess he’d be my guardian then already.”

“Yeah,” Roxas nodded. “Who needs parents, we’ve got Axel!”

Lea blinked at having three kids wanting him to be there legal guardian, looking at the ceiling in confusion. He almost made another outburst, but considering how shaky Naminé seemed with choosing, he stayed quiet instead.

Still. They were giving him a lot of responsibility, and he was pretty sure that he was going to mess it up somehow.

Terra gave Naminé a thumbs up. “No problem. And if you do end up changing your mind, we’ve got time too. At least, until you come here and sign everything.”

“Ok,” Naminé smiled, putting her hands together. “Thank you very much.”

“And since that’s sorted, I’ll go tell Master Ansem to get the paperwork together for you all,” Ienzo put a hand to his chin in contemplation. “The sooner you come visit us the better, especially since I do believe you want to use this for some...dance lessons?”

“Yes, that's correct,” Isa nodded.

“Huh,” Ienzo looked like he wanted to say something more, but he quickly dismissed the thought, moving on. “It will also be a good idea to have checkups for all of you while you’re here.”

“Checkups?” Roxas blinked. “Is something wrong with us?”

“No, not at all. If you haven’t noticed anything, then there shouldn’t be any issues, but it would be smart to make sure your replica bodies are still working as intended. Even doesn’t say so, but he does worry, and wants to make sure to fix any problems before they occur,” Ienzo nodded.

“It’ll also be good for you three to get in the habit of going in for doctor checkups,” Isa looked at the kids. “It's a good way to watch out for any troubling illnesses coming up.”

“Although, not everyone  keeps up that habit,” Ienzo looked at Lea with a pointed stare. “Since you are also coming Lea, we will also set things up so you can finally have your own check up. You shouldn’t have avoided it for this long, there could’ve been some complications with your reformation you know.”

The man cringed while several sets of eyes landed on him, piercing him with guilt. “I’m fine though, moving and running around with no issues. I don’t need it…”

“We’ll drag him in,” Isa rolled his eyes. “Thank you for letting us know about his irresponsibility.”

“Hey! I don’t see you also going in for a check up!”

“I already had one, the second time I was recompleted,” Isa pointed out blandly. “You not doing so as well is just cowardice.”

“I had more important things to do! And I’m fine!”

“Hm. You’re going.”

“Great,” Lea grumbled, moving so he could sit up straight again while Roxas and Xion scrambled to stay clinging on. “That’ll be...fun.”

Ienzo smiled at him. “It’ll be a quick thing don’t worry. And it is important Lea, we don’t fully understand how the recompletion works with its complexities, we just want to make sure you’re ok.”

“I am, but no one wants to believe me… so now that we’ve gotten all this bullying me out of the way, are we all good? Or is there something else you want to spring on us?”

“Not from me,” Ienzo shook his head, looking at Terra.

“Actually,” Terra held up a hand. “I wanted to run an idea with you before we say goodbye. Could I borrow your gummi phone just for a couple more minutes Ienzo?”

“I suppose so,” Ienzo looked at his phone and back at Terra. “Bring it back to me when you’re done? I’ll go tell Master Ansem to get things started. Goodbye,” he gave an awkward wave to everyone, shuffling out of view.

“So, whats up Terra?” Lea reached out to take his phone back from Isa, shrugging his shoulders to try and loosen the children clinging to him. It didn’t work. “Is there something else we gotta sign?”

“Nah,” he waved a hand. “It's actually just a kind of chill idea I had. I was thinking that when the three of us get back, we should all get together for a vacation day. It’ll give the construction workers time and space to do some of the more complicated work, and we can all actually relax for a day after all the work we’ve been doing.”

“I’m always up for a vacation day, no excuse needed,” Lea held up a questioning hand. “Would napping be allowed?”

“I mean...yeah? I guess so?”

“That's not what vacation days are supposed to be like and you know it,” Xion poked his cheek with a frown. “We agreed on this! It's not a vacation if just you do the same thing you always do!”

“I don’t always take naps.”

“Yes you do,” Roxas and Isa spoke as one, sharing a disgruntled look at speaking in key with one another.

“Not really!”

“Did you have something in specific in mind for us to do?” Naminé leaned towards the phone curiously. “Since you had this idea in the first place.”

“Well, only roughly. My main idea was another beach day as that doesn’t take much preparation, and it might be nice to all go together this time,” Terra ran a hand through his hair while the others nodded.

They all remembered this missing members of their group last they had celebrated on the beach, and it had been a somber ending on what was supposed to be a happy day. But now that they were all home and safe, they could move on and think of happier things.

“And if we go again, we can wear appropriate beach clothes this time,” Terra smiled. “Last time I was pouring sand out of my boots for days.”

“Mm, and some of us don’t have to wear designer coats either if we do that,” Lea gave Isa a look, which the man ignored with a gentle shove.

“That too. But if you don’t want to go to the beach, we can choose another place, it is supposed to be a vacation we all enjoy.”

“I’d like to go to the beach again,” Xion excitedly nodded. “That's what we planned anyways for our vacation days before, it feels fitting.”

“But what else would we wear to the beach if not our clothes?” Roxas frowned. “What do you mean beach appropriate clothes?”

“Uh… well you know… swim...swimsuits?” Terra was a bit thrown at the question. “You know… or not?”

Both Roxas and Xion shook their heads before turning to Lea, who let out a breath of air. He was well versed in their questioning stares prompting him to explain the world around them. “Swimsuits are special clothes meant for when you go swimming and to the beach. You can get them wet without worrying about ruining them, and it's also easier to swim around in them. A lot easier then like, baggy khakis.”

“Hey!” Roxas pouted at Lea.

“Just saying. But yeah, they’d be better then what we usually wear if we wanna hang out on the beach, probably should also get some sandals,” he scratched his chin. “We can get all of that stuff in town probably, no sweat. I guess that means there will be actually be swimming this time.”

“I don’t know if I know how to swim,” Xion frowned. “Naminé? What do you think?”

“I’m, not sure,” she touched a hand to her chin. “I don’t think I do, I’ve never tried.”

“Well, Xion and I got Sora’s dancing skills, we probably also picked up swimming from him,” Roxas hesitated, putting a hand to his chin. “Can Sora swim?”

“I’d be concerned if he couldn’t, considering he grew up on a set of islands,” Isa pointed out.

“Oh yeah right, I forgot about that. Then yeah we can definitely swim.”

“We’ll get some floaties, just in case,” Lea didn’t want to deal with the kind of stress that would cut even more years out of his life if this was a case where they didn’t gain Sora’s skills through heart osmosis. “And it looks like beach vacation day is pretty much confirmed. That it Terra?”

“Yup,” He gave them a thumbs up. “I’ll let Ven and Aqua know, we can do it the day after we get back maybe. I’ll see about inviting King Mickey, Donald, and Goofy, but considering how busy they’ve been in Disney Castle lately, they might not be able to make it on such short notice.”

“Well, that's what you get when your king leaves home for several years without really telling anyone what he’s doing,” Lea smirked. “So irresponsible.”

“Like you can even speak on that,” Isa rolled his eyes again.

“Where are Ven and Aqua?” Xion peered into the phone curiously, as if she looked around enough she’d spot one of them hiding. “I thought they were supposed to be helping you with all of this stuff?”

“Oh,” Terra’s smile faltered before he waved her off. “They are, they just wanted to walk around town for a bit so I volunteered to be here and talk to you about this. I just got saddle with it is all.”

“Oh ok. Well, say hi from us,” Xion waved at the screen with a smile.

“Will do. Tell Sora, Riku and Kairi about the beach day too so they’re prepared. Now...” Terra picked up the phone, squinting into the camera. “How do I...end call…”

After a series of long, unhelpful instructions from everyone, Terra finally managed it on his own, the screen finally going dark. Lea put his phone away before stretching upwards, ignoring complaints as Xion and Roxas were finally dislodged from his shoulders.

“Well, beach day it is,” he yawned, looking at the four on his bed. “I guess we need to go shopping for that before hand. What time is it?”

“Only one, the stores should be open still.”

“Then let's go do that, we can get ice cream afterwards.”

“Maybe we should’ve asked Ienzo for a dental check as well,” Isa muttered.

“What do swimsuits look like? And what are the floaties you mentioned?” Xion looked wide eyed at Lea as he began pulling them up, hustling them from the room.

“Uh, they look like a lot of different things, some are one pieces and some are two pieces. Kind of like underwear but it's more socially acceptable to walk around in them. You’ll be able to choose whatever kind you want,” Lea looked up at the ceiling. “And floaties are...well there's a few kinds, but they basically are supposed to keep you floating on the surface of the water without needing to swim. Some, like an innertube, you can sit in and float on the water. Smaller ones go on your arms and keep you floating but you can kick around a bit more, so it's closer to actual swimming. We’ll get a couple different ones and you can try them all out.”

“But we already know how to swim.”

“That is yet to be seen. I also just wanna get a lounge float, it's fun to just rest on top of the water too.”

“...is this just another way to get away with napping.”

“Why Roxas, how did you know?”

“Ahg! You’re so lazy!”

Isa followed along, considering Lea’s back as they walked. Despite his teasing that his friend wasn’t responsible, he clearly was good at taking care of the younger teens, easily fitting into an older brother role without much struggle. It was a testament to his heart, that despite the mistakes he made, that the kids still wanted him around them.

He was proud of his friend, and gave a small smile. He was relieved that even with Lea’s attention rightly divided, that he still had some time for his old best friend on occasion.

“Yo, what are you smiling about?”

Isa blinked, having missed when Lea had stopped to wait for him, letting the kids move on in front. “What?”

“You’re smiling,” Lea pointed at his face with a smirk. “Come on, I want to be in on the joke.”

“There’s no joke. Its nothing. I was just… nothing.”

“Oh ok, nothing, right. I got it memorized,” he chuckled. “So, beach day?”

“Mhmm.”

“You going to get a swimsuit as well?”

“We all are, aren’t we?”

“Yeah, sometimes though I can’t tell what you’re thinking, so i just wanted to make sure,” Lea looked off. “You know, for mental preparation.”

Isa paused for a second before giving him a frown. “Mental preparation for what?”

“You know what? Forget I said that.”

Isa gave him a confused look while Lea turned back to the kids, calling out and suggesting that they also pick up some water guns for the beach day.

What was that all about?

\--

“I really wish this had some kind of manual,” Terra grumbled, leaving the room with Ienzo’s gummi phone in hand, ready to return it to the young man. It wasn’t fun, slowly learning how it worked step by agonizing step, and it reminded him of his younger days of learning how to wield a keyblade.

He always had a bit of an impatience problem.

Shaking the thought out of his head, he looked up so he wouldn’t get lost in the winding corridors of Radiant Garden’s castle. While most of it had been returned to its previous state before its transformation into Hollow Bastion, it still had a level of confusion to its layout, leading to many visitors often wandering into places they really shouldn’t go. Leon and the Restoration Committee had firmly insisted that it be kept generally closed from the public, giving an exception to the old apprentices and Ansem the Wise when they returned, but even that was a shaky agreement.

They had a valid reason to why they moved the computer system that handled the town’s defenses out of the castle once it became clear its old inhabitants were living inside once again. Trust was a hard thing to gain, and it would probably take longer then the decade it took to destroy it.

Reaching the shared office of the apprentices (Terra suddenly wondered if it was rude to continue calling them that), he knocked, leaning in. “Ienzo?”

“Ah,” the grey haired young man turned to him where he was looking over some papers at the desk, smiling. “Done with the phone call already? I haven’t even gotten the chance to track Master Ansem down and tell him about what we agreed upon.”

“Yeah, like I said, just needed a few minutes,” he passed him back his gummi phone. “Um, do you happen to know if there’s a...manual for that thing by the way? I still haven’t fully figured it out..”

“Mm, no, not to my knowledge. There is an instructional video left in there by Chip and Dale, but I think they just assumed that we would all be able to navigate most of the functions on our own.”

“Oh right,” Terra nodded. “...where is the instructional video by the way?”

“...ah. Let me show you.”

The two of them looked over the gummi phone, Terra trying to absorb the steps that Ienzo went through to get to the hidden video file. Neither of them looked up when the door opened, someone shuffling behind them with several bags of foods. Finally, he cleared his throat.

“Hey. What are you two doing?”

Terra looked up into Leon’s frowning face. He had been introduced to the man a few times, and each time Terra felt like somewhere in the back of his mind that he should be expecting someone younger.

He was also unsure if Leon liked him or not. He seemed to always be evaluating him for some kind of threat, and he honestly couldn’t help but feel he deserved it.

The citizens of Radiant Garden had learned of Apprentice Xehanort’s face once they returned home, in case he tried to return again and deceive them, and it was after all, originally his face.

He stayed to the castle during his visits, preferring to stay out of sight and not cause any more alarm to a world that truly deserved its peace.

“I’m showing Terra some of the gummi phones capabilities,” Ienzo showed the device to Leon, who frowned at it. “It can be a bit complicated at times.”

“Ah right, that little...computer thing,” he shook his head, leaning against the wall. “I think it's still strange, having a device that lets you talk between worlds. Feels a bit...dangerous.”

“Only people who have one can contact other gummi phones. And as its a rather small circle of ownership, the technology is relatively safe. As safe as any form of technology is at least.”

“Hm,” Leon shrugged before pointing at the bags. “Aerith said you needed some extra groceries since you have guests. I think there’s a pie in here as well? I’m not sure exactly, she just handed it to me and told me to head on over”

“Ah,” Ienzo perked up, walking over to the bags and looking through them. “Thank you, I don’t believe any of us had a chance to go grocery shopping this week, our kitchen is probably looking quite barren right now.”

“Its nothing,” He waved a hand before sizing Terra up. “Where’s your partner?”

“Partner?” He blinked at the man, confused.

“Yeah um… Aqua? Master Aqua,” He gave an apologetic frown at forgetting her title. “You usually seem glued to each others sides whenever you’re here. And usually with Rox-Ven- one of them,” Leon looked painfully into the distance, and Terra couldn’t help but sympathize with his confusion.

It was hard, parsing out the oddities of their weird little keyblade family from the outside.

“Well, Aqua’s not my partner. Keyblade wielders don’t typically work in pairs actually, usually we work on our own. We only work in groups if the situation calls for it.”

Leon gave him a look. “I mean, yeah, I’ve seen that with Sora. I meant...you know what, nevermind. So, where are they?”

“Ok,” Terra didn’t try and think too hard on whatever that was about. “They went into town awhile ago, check out how the restoration is going. I think they were going to ask your friend um… Yuffie to show them the defense system, it would be useful to get set up on other worlds with Heartless problems.”

“Mm, they’d be better with talking with Cid about that. But if they found Yuffie, she’s probably leading them back now, it's getting close to lunch and she never misses a meal.”

“I’ll go greet them then,” Terra nodded, heading off with a smile. Walking out to the open courtyard outside of the castle he looked over the view of Radiant Garden, taking in the sight of the ongoing rebuilding effort, reminding him of the work going on back at the mansion.

It was beautiful. A fallen world returned from the darkness, becoming light again.

It shouldn’t have fallen in the first place. No one, not Leon, not Yuffie, not even Ienzo (he was a child, placing him with the other apprentices was unfair) deserved the fate of this world. And a part of him helped caused its destruction. His hand was directed to swing with the intent to destroy it all for his own goals.

He squeezed his eyes shut, giving his head a violent shake. No, it wasn’t his fault, not his goals. It was Xehanort. He wasn’t him. He wasn’t. He didn’t want it, he fought every day just to even stay conscious.

Just because he had scraps of memory of the terrible actions his body did, didn’t mean it was his fault.

“Terra!”

Turning, he smiled at seeing three shapes approaching. Yuffie gave him a cheeky wave before rushing on past to go inside, heading towards food as Leon predicted. Aqua and Ven were moving at a slower pace, smiling at spotting him waiting for them. He lifted his hand with a wave, walking towards them to meet them halfway. “Hey, how was the grand tour of town?”

“Good, it's wonderful to see how much has changed but also stayed the same,” Aqua looked out at the view. “It's amazing what they’re doing here.”

“I’m just surprised that Scrooge still has an ice cream store here,” Ven put his hands behind his head. “Like, he’s got to have some crazy underworld connections to keep his whole empire running like this, right?”

“I think he’s just that good of a businessman,” Terra chuckled, eyes falling back to Aqua. “He knows how to balance everything just right.”

Looking at her now, he doubted anyone who didn’t know her as well as he and Ven did would see that she had a moment that left her shaking it the day before. After they had their hug session, Aqua had given each of them the letter Eraqus had written for them before leaving the room to see what Chirithy had made for dinner.

Neither of them had read it yet. They had a silent agreement that if Aqua’s caused her so much distress, then they should save it for later.

Now, there was no sign of the fragile way Aqua had looked the previous night, but there was soft bruising beneath her eyes. Terra kicked himself for not checking on her at night, to make sure she got some sleep or at least had someone to sit with her as she fretted. He was worried, watching her, that she was using the business of ID’s and the remodelling as a way to distract herself from what was troubling her.

He was glad Ventus took it onto himself to distract Aqua, pulling her to go check out the town instead of dealing with the dull task of identification papers. It clearly had helped get her mind off things, her body more relaxed then the last time he saw her.

This was why they needed a vacation day, a day of no work and just relaxing and taking time for themselves. It was healing, being able to ignore for a little bit the problems of the world.

He hoped it wasn’t the wrong decision.

He also hoped she wasn’t going to fight against him for springing it on her so suddenly.

“Did you get everyone on the same page with what they need to do for the identification papers? Did they take it ok?” Aqua pushed her hair behind her ear, peering up at him curiously.

“Fine, they know they have to come down sometime soon to get it sorted. Lea’s going to sign on as guardian for Roxas, Xion, and Naminé.”

“That's unsurprising. I’m glad that's going to be all settled then,” she smiled. “Maybe we should’ve had them come with us though, it’ll be a bit longer till we can start dance lessons then...”

“There’s no rush for it, they can come later,” Terra nodded. Running a hand through his hair, he cleared his throat. “Hey uh, change of subject, when I talked with the others, we came up with this plan for when we came back…”

“Oh yeah?” She blinked, waiting for him to continue.

“Yeah, I thought… well I said we could do this the day after we get back, if we’re still tired from traveling we can push it back though, but,” he inhaled before letting out a long breath. “But I suggested we all go to the beach as a sort of. Vacation day. They liked the idea and I think they’re going to get beach supplies now.”

“Oh beach day!” Ven jumped up. “You should’ve said so earlier, my old swimsuit is back at home Terra!”

“Well, maybe we can ask them to pick up a swimsuit for you too. You’re practically the same size as Roxas.”

“Hey. I have a few centimeters on him.”

“I really doubt that’s going to make much of a difference.”

“But what about the mansion,” Aqua frowned at him. “There’s still a lot of stuff that needs to be done there, and with us gone for these two days, less has already been done this week.”

“Yeah, but one day won’t hurt in the long term. And, I was going to ask the construction workers to come in while we’re gone, do some of the projects that we personally can’t do. They can get that started, we’ll be out of their way, it’ll work out just fine.”

“I don’t know…” she fidgeted with a lock of hair. “I just don’t feel comfortable leaving all that work, maybe I should stay behind…”

“Oh come on Aqua,” Ven grabbed her hand with a grin. “It’ll be fun! And really, since Terra already made the plans, if anyone should stay behind, he should. He’s not though, cause we all deserve a vacation day,” he added hastily. “And we can’t back out of it now. Since Lea knows about it, no way he’d let us back out of a day where he’s allowed to be lazy.”

“He does like being lazy,” Terra chuckled. “Come on Aqua. The mansion will still be there waiting for us. Just one day.”

She looked at her two best friends, standing and smiling in front of her. Letting out a sigh she nodded. “I guess its true, he does like being lazy. But in the future, I don’t want to slack off on too much work all at once.”

“Just one day! And I’m getting it all set up anyways since it was my idea, don’t you worry about it Aqua,” he smiled at her. “Leave it to me.”

“Ok...ok yeah, beach day,” she slowly felt a smile growing on her face. “It sounds fun. But we will have to go get swimsuits for ourselves. You and I definitely aren’t the size of anyone back in Twilight Town, and I don’t trust Lea’s influence if we asked them to buy something for us. He’d get something weirdly flame patterned.”

“We could be matching,” Terra grinned, laughing as she gave him a gentle shove.

“No, that's ok, he can go get matching clothes with Isa...actually that would be cute, we should see if we could convince them to do that sometime.”

“Oh no, not the matchmaking again!” Ventus threw his hands up in the air. “I’m going to go inside and see about food, I refuse to have any part of that. Let me know if we’re gonna get swimsuits later!”

Aqua rolled her eyes as he ran off, folding her arms. “Well, at least he’s excited.”

“He’s always excited,” Terra chuckled, gesturing. “We should go in as well, there’s apparently a pie waiting for us, but who knows if anyone will save us any.”

“Oh? Let's hurry then, I wonder what kind of pie it’ll be,” she put a finger to her chin in thought. “I hope its pecan.”

“I hope its apple, that's the superior pie.”

“Well. You’ll just have to deal with being wrong.”

“Aqua,” He laughed as she grinned back at him, leading the way.

“What? You know I’m right.”

“Of course I do,” he watched her go in, eyes softening slightly. “Of course I do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I try to have each chapter at least over 7 thousand words, this one ended up short by a little more then a hundred. Its fine though, we're getting to scenes that I actually have planned out in my little outline that I look at everytime I try to remember what order I wanted things in.
> 
> Also writing this made me realize that, Axel is literally the best adult figure around Namine (consider Oblivion crew were cruel and don't get me started on DiZ), so like. Lea defaults to being the best person to be her guardian which is wilddddddd.
> 
> Also Happy 10th anniversary to 358/2 Days, objectively the stupidest name and my favorite KH game of the series. Such good Seasalt Trio content (and divorced AkuSai), I love it. I recommend to anyone who hasn't reading the manga version of it, it's pretty dang good.


	9. Chapter 9

“Attention!” Sora stood dramatically on the pier, holding a stick taller than even his tiptoe height, and a towel tied like a cape at his neck. He looked as if he was about to lead his army to victory, although his army were all currently dressed in swimsuits and vaguely uncertain expressions. Riku was standing behind him, head in his hand as if he wished he could just melt into the ground, and Kairi was sitting at the ground next to them, rolling her eyes as she finished applying sunscreen. 

It was fun when he was excited, but he never did seem to grow out of the urge to make things bigger and bigger then they needed to be.

“I am here to make sure all of you,” he pointed at the crowd in front of him. “Can swim! If you can’t you will gain one of these,” he pointed at the pile of arm floaties he had commandeered from Lea earlier when they were delegating who was in charge of what. “And swimming lessons from yours truly! Do you understand?”

Roxas squinted at Sora. “No. Why are you the one that's doing this?”

“Cause I’m the best swimmer here, so obviously I have to be the one to judge your swimming skills.”

“He’s not the best swimmer,” Riku muttered under his hand.

“Ignore all rumors telling you different.”

“It's definitely Kairi.”

“Ignore them!”

Ventus put up his hand next with a sheepish grin. “I don’t get why I’m here though, like, I know that I can swim. I knew how to before ending up in the Heart Hotel.”

“I refuse to let you get out of this,” Roxas scowled. “You’re suffering in solidarity with us.”

“But,” he waved back to where the others were packing up some of the rowboats, having stopped at the mainland first for extra snacks. “There’s watermelon back there…”

“Suffering. In solidarity.”

“Enough chatting!” Sora banged his stick on the thick wood of the pier. “We’ll first see if you can float in the play islands little pool. If you can, then we’ll go into the ocean and you can paddle around under the bridge. You do all that, you pass. You can’t, you get the floaties of… of shame.”

“I think they’re kind of neat though,” Xion picked up a mint colored one, turning it over in her hands. “I kind of want to try them out even if I do know how to swim, and I don’t want to be shamed for it.”

“Don’t worry Xion,” Roxas laid a hand on her shoulder. “I’ll punch Sora for you if he tries to shame you.”

“Hey! Don’t make plans of violence against me!”

Lea watched them with amusement from where he was putting a cooler filled with ice cream and drinks into one of the rowboats. He was glad that for some reason, Sora believed that the adults knew how to swim already. “How long do you think that’ll last?”

“Not long. Ven’s actually a pretty good swimmer, he’ll ruin Sora’s dreams of teaching them all how to swim,” Aqua put in a bag of extra towels and sunscreen into the boat next to his, squinting back towards the kids. “I’m sure the others will pick it up fast if they really don’t know how to. So...maybe an hour or two once we get to the island?”

“Mm, enough time to take a nap,” He tossed in the last grocery bag of goodies into a boat, clapping his hands together. “There we go. All good?”

“Looks like it!” She put her hands on her hips with a smile. “And you’re not really going to take a nap, right? It's such a nice day!”

He pointed at her with both hands. “A nice day for a nap.”

“Seriously, Lea?”

“Hey, you got me up before the sun rose so we could spend all day here,” He stretched his entire body up, bouncing back down on his heels. “I deserve at least one hour today, completely unconscious, in the shade on the beach. Maybe with some watermelon besides me.”

“The sun never rises in Twilight Town anyways,” she rolled her eyes at him.

“Yeah but my point still stands.”

“Sure it does,” she turned away from him, lifting a hand up to her mouth to help project her voice. “We’re all packed guys! Let's start rowing over.”

“Finally,” Roxas grabbed Xion’s hand, quickly pulling her away so they could escape Sora’s lessons. “Which boat are we in?”

“Three to a boat, one will be just two though,” Aqua gestured to the four boats waiting for their passengers, glancing back at where Terra and Isa were sitting on the dock, still chatting with some dock workers they had rented the boats from. “Hey, Isa, Terra!”

Both looking over, with Isa squinting in the sun and Terra waving back. “Yeah Aqua? Ready to go?”

“Yeah, come on,” she gestured, looking back at the boats and taking a deep breath in the next part of her (not devious) plans.

Everyone had to get into proper groups, or else her idea to get two specific people alone together would fall apart around her.

“Isa, Lea, why don’t you take this one together,” she gave them the best sweet smile she had, patting the rowboat with the larger cooler in it. “It's a bit heavier then the others, but between the two of your,” she realized halfway through what she was actually saying, but she was too far committed. “Muscles...uh...it should be easy enough for the two of you to row over!”

Terra looked like he wanted to start laughing at Aqua’s fumble, while Isa looked at Lea. He took his friends arm, lifting it, squinting at it, before dropping it back down with a snort.

“Isa.”

“I said nothing.”

“Doing all that and then laughing wasn’t its own statement.”

“I’m allowed to laugh.”

“ _ Isa.” _

He turned away as the redhead glared at him, covering his mouth as more laughter bubbled to the surface. With a huff, Lea turned back to Aqua with an exaggerated wave of his hand. “You sure you don’t want to go on your own with Terra? We can take the boat with Ven.”

“Maybe I don’t want to go in the boat with you. Maybe I’m gonna go in the one with your best friends,” Ventus put his hands on his hips. “Steal  _ your _ best friends for sudden weird dinner da-hang outs.”

“Well excuse me. And hey, that was Aqua more then me.”

“Terra and I don’t need to go alone together anyways,” Aqua smiled, waving at Lea. “You and Isa should really take it.”

“But Ven’s called me out now, I really feel like I should do something about that.”

“Come at me,” Ventus pointed at Lea with a grin.

“You know,” Naminé put a hand to her cheek. “I think Ven has been spending a lot of time with Roxas.”

“As if that's a bad thing,” Roxas sniffed as Xion laughed at him.

“Actually, I was hoping that it could be myself, Terra and Ven in the same boat. It would be nice for the three of us best friends to be together,” Aqua pushed Lea towards Isa, giving Ventus a look to go along with it. 

“Ohhh,” Ventus blinked at the look before slowly nodding. “Yeah yeah. One happy family in a boat together sure.”

“You sure? I’m not afraid of Ven beating me up if you want to hang out alone with Terra,” Lea looked over his shoulder back at her.

She made a face at him, trying to push him closer to Isa. “I don’t need to hang out alone with Terra.”

He tilted his head. “Do you not want to be alone with Terra?”

“No, I do not!”

Everyone paused and looked at Aqua, who suddenly realized how harsh her words appeared. She pulled her hands up in defense of herself. 

“Uh I mean,” she looked at Terra who had an eyebrow raised at her statement. “I was, Terra, you know what I mean!”

He looked at her, then everyone staring at them, before putting a hand to his heart. “I will never recover from this great blow, of being scorned by you.”

“Terra!”

“Ven, you’re the only one I can rely on from now on,” he laid a hand on the smaller boys shoulder, who was shaking with barely suppressed laughter. “The only one who wants to sit with me in a boat.”

“I was kinda thinking I’d fall back on the plan of going with Roxas and Xion actually,” Ven was grinning at him, tears appearing in his eyes as it became a herculean task to hold back laughter.

“Ah. All my friends abandon me at once.”

“You are such-UGH! Boys!” Aqua hurried over, grabbing Terra’s arm and Ventus’s, her face bright pink in embarrassment. “We are going into the boat together like best friends and I maybe I won’t shove you overboard for this.”

“You can’t, we still haven’t tested if Ven can swim,” Sora yelled out in horror.

“I can swim!”

“Ah Aqua, are you really sure,” Terra couldn’t help but grin down at her as she scowled. “We’ve only been best friends our whole lives, it might be a bit much for you to sit with me in a rowboat.”

“Nevermind, I’m definitely knocking you overboard,” she dragged the two into a rowboat, pausing only to point dramatically at Isa and Lea. “And you two! Share that boat!”

“Yes Master,” Lea saluted her while laughing, Isa grinning besides him. “We will save you from uncomfortably sitting alone with Terra.”

“I didn’t mean that!”

They all laughed as they split off into groups, Aqua hiding her face as Terra and Ven continued to tease her as they rowed out. Roxas, Xion and Naminé climbed into one rowboat, with Sora, Riku and Kairi in another, leaving Lea and Isa in their own as Aqua had planned. They pushed off last, letting everyone else lead the way to the play island just in sight of the mainland.

“Maybe you shouldn’t tease Aqua so much about her crush,” Isa gave Lea a pointed look as he rowed. “Especially since she hasn’t admitted to having one yet.”

“I just can’t believe that two people that lovey dovey can be so unaware of their own feelings though!” he gave a disgusted shake of his head, lifting a hand to gesture and causing Isa to quickly snatch his oar before it fell into the ocean. “If we didn’t say anything, they’d probably just go on like that for the rest of their lives. And I’d go crazy having to watch that forever.”

“It's not our responsibility to make them aware… you’re not trying to set them up together, are you? Like...matchmaking?”

“Hell no,” Lea shuddered. “That would be weird and way too much effort honestly, I don’t know why anyone would try that. I just think occasionally commenting will nudge them into realizing a few things. And also its funny.”

“Right.”

“You know you find it funny too.”

“I do,” Isa smirked. “Just don’t make it weird.”

“Yes mom.”

“I think between the two of us, that title fits you better,  _ dad _ .”

“Please don’t remind me or ever call me that again.”

They continued rowing in companionable silence, Lea watching the other boats in quiet contemplation. Sora, Riku and Kairi were unsurprisingly the fastest, years of experience of going between islands giving them the skills and tricks on how to pick up speed on the waves without tiring out. Roxas, Xion and Naminé had stopped momentarily, looking down into the clear water below and pointing things out to one another in excitement.

Aqua meanwhile had a bubble of water raised out of the water while both Terra and Ven had their hands up, trying to convince her not to splash them quite yet. He heard Ven distantly yell “Think of the watermelon!” and he chuckled.

It was going to be a fun day.

His eyes drifted back to his rowboat companion, and he tried his best not to make it too obvious that he would be content to watch him for the rest of the day. Isa was taking to rowing with the same serious determination he took to many tasks, and he could appreciate this as it showed off his strong arm muscles, for once not hidden by a ridiculously overpriced designer coat. He had picked out a pair of dark trunks with a subtle moon and stars pattern on it, a loose, light blue button up with short sleeves as well. He had passed on buttoning it up though, and already looked ready for a day of sunbathing and swimming and to generally look like a supermodel on the beach.

Lea suddenly had an urge to jump into the ocean and swim to Aqua’s boat to knock her into the water for putting him into this situation. Although maybe it was good, being alone no one would notice his distracted thoughts towards his friend in front of him.

“Lea. Lea? Lea hey, are you listening to me?”

Except for the subject of his distracted thoughts.

“Hm?” he snapped his eyes back to Isa’s face, who frowned at the guilt on Lea’s face. Quickly trying to cover up his distraction he put a hand to his chin, giving his rather handsome (he could kill his brain right now) friend a large grin. “Yes?”

“Did you hear anything I said in the last couple of minutes?”

“Of course I did,” he dismissed any accusations with a wave of his hand. “I heard every word.”

“...so you agree with me?”

“...yes?”

“Oh good,” Isa smirked. “Then I’ll let you row the rest of the way to the island.”

“...I feel like I’ve been tricked.”

“You aren’t since you were listening to me,” he chuckled, relaxing back as Lea grumbled, returning to rowing with a grumpy amount of gusto.

“Aren’t you, as my best friend, supposed to forgive me when I get distracted sometimes?”

“Sure, I forgive you. Doesn’t mean I still can’t make you row for the both of us,” Isa smirked. “Got that memorized?”

“You’re the worst. Absolutely the worst. I’m going to be sore doing this all on my own.”

“Only because you hardly have any muscles.”

“Hey! I’m just lean, got it memorized?”

“Hmm,” Isa looked Lea up and down for a moment, and Lea suddenly had a moment where he couldn’t read the expression on his friends face. He suddenly felt self conscious of the clothes he had picked out (flashy red swim trunks and a jacket vest zipped up for now) and what he was thinking right now. “Sure. Although I’d still say at a glance you’re skinny more than anything.”

“Hey!”

“I guess I would be jealous, if you had more muscle than me.”

“You’re the absolute worst,” Lea laughed though. It was refreshing how Isa was working to clear his jealousy, to even joke about it now. Even if his eyes flickered away in embarrassment after his words. 

Each shaky step he took showed he was trying, to let go of the negative emotions that dragged him down and let them shift to the more positive ones that was helping to rebuild their friendship.

“Well, I’m never going to have this kind of muscle anyways,” he gave a quick smack to Isa’s arm. “I guess you won’t get a chance to be jealous!”

“Oh wow, thank you for this extreme act of kindness of not gaining muscle,” Isa’s voice was dry but he was smirking and soon they were both laughing together, slowly skimming over the beautiful ocean of Destiny Islands.

\--

“I have no problem at all, towards knocking you over into the water,” Aqua pointed threateningly at both Terra and Ventus, who were both grinning at her on the other side of the boat, holding their oars in a guard as if that would stop her. “You can both swim, I would feel no guilt whatsoever.

“Sorry Aqua,” Ventus laughed. “Your reaction was just too funny.”

“I am glad to know though, that you wouldn’t hate being alone with me in a boat,” Terra laughed as Aqua’s glare snapped to him. “Makes me feel loved.”

She continued glaring as they laughed, until her face had no choice but to soften into a smile, rolling her eyes. “I can’t believe I call you two my best friends.”

“We’re the best best friends! You can never get rid of us!” Ven threw himself at her into a hug, ignoring how he caused the boat to sway back and forth dangerously, Terra grabbing the sides to balance it.

“Ok, ok, I wouldn’t want to anyways,” she laughed, ruffling his hair as she hugged him back. “Now, let's get back to rowing! It won’t be a beach day if we never actually make it to the beach.”

“That's ok! Everyone else is going super slow. Well, except for those three,” Ventus pointed at the speedy boat that held Sora, Riku and Kairi, pulling further and further away from everyone. “Wow they’re really excited to get there.”

“Probably making up for lost time. They are islanders after all,” Terra noted.

Aqua glanced at her friends on the other boats with a smile. She still felt bad about skipping out on so much time from her carefully scheduled work plans for the mansion, but Terra had contacted the construction workers and made sure that plenty of work would still be done while they were having fun. She supposed she could handle a one day vacation just fine, get her mind off of things and focus on the good instead of the swirling storm at the back of her mind.

Not that there was a swirling storm at the back of her mind. She was completely fine, only good things here.

One of the good things she was focussing on instead was her matchmaking. She had to admit, actually trying to get two people together without being obvious about what she was doing was making it really hard to come up with ideas. Besides the dance lessons, she had little idea on what to do next, except drag them out on more not really dates in the future.

So getting them alone in a boat together was a perfect setting for them to have a romantic moment together. Squinting over at where they were currently rowing though, it didn’t look much different from the previous times she had observed them, nothing to suggest romantic feelings were blooming (although why was Lea rowing on his own?). 

She had to spark some kind of incident.

“Ven, you’ve improved on your water magic, correct?”

“Yeah? I’m still not as good as you are but I’m getting better,” he followed her line of sight, tilting his head curiously. “Why…?”

“Do you think you could use some to just, gently knock around their boat a bit? Maybe enough to make one fall into the other?”

“...you’re matchmaking! On our vacation day!”

“Well, it's a great time to do it,” she defended. “They’re relaxed, enjoying themselves, it's a perfect time to be reminded of old, lingering feelings!”

“Someone splashing water magic on them probably won’t relax them! Why does it have to be me anyways? I don’t want to be part of the matchmaking.”

“It's in case they notice,” she sighed, putting a hand to her cheek. “If I did it, they’d probably get suspicious. If you do it, they’ll just assume you’re pranking them since you are better friends with them.”

“I feel like no matter who does it, they’ll be suspicious.” Ventus looked at Terra. “Isn’t this extremely suspicious?”

He shrugged, rowing slowly as he considered the question. He realized that both of his friends were too distracted at the moment to help him with the rowing, but was content with taking over most of the work for the moment. That’s what the muscles were for anyways. “I already agreed to help Aqua out with the matchmaking, I think I’ve kind of waved away my right to call things out for being too suspicious.”

“You totally still have that right.”

“Its also just easier to go along with it.”

“See,” Aqua pointed at Terra in triumph. “He’s ok with it. Two out of three makes it fine.”

“This feels like one of the moments where you guys taught me against this kind of thing, but now we’re ignoring it,” Ventus rolled his eyes. “Fine. I’ll do it. Maybe I’ll actually miss and hit them full on, that would actually be pretty funny.”

“Please don’t do that.”

“You’ll never know if what I’m about to do is on purpose or not.”

“Ven no.”

Summoning his keyblade (unlike Aqua, there was no way Ventus was going to be able to use water magic without it), he pointed it in the direction of Isa and Lea’s boat, lining up his shot. Taking a deep breath he muttered “Water,” keeping his movements as small as possible to keep attention off himself, he sent off a low stream of water towards the side of their boat. When it met its target it sent up a spray of salt water that made both men jump in surprise. The boat rocked violently from side to side, but much to Aqua’s disappointment, neither of them fell into one another as they scrambled to balance it out.

“Well, darn,” she propped plopped her chin. “We just scared them, which kind of feels mean.”

“Oh now you feel mean,” Ventus rolled his eyes, dismissing his keyblade quickly before the two men glanced their way. “Why don’t you just like. Send them to go get something for you together instead of trying to toss them around in a boat. You’re smart, you must have way better ideas then this.”

“Actually, it's really hard coming up with good plans to get them together,” Aqua frowned. “Especially since I don’t want them to notice what I’m doing. I want it to be natural, just gentle nudges in the right direction.”

“...me shoving their boat wasn’t gentle Aqua.”

“Ok smarty, besides your one idea, do you have anything better to suggest?”

“I already told you I’m not good at matchmaking,” Ventus frowned, looking at the sky. “Maybe… maybe like. Ask for advice on romantic stuff in front of both of them, get them thinking about it together.”

“Me ask for romantic advice?” She straightened up quickly, staring at him. “I feel like that would… no, no, they’d definitely see through it, I don’t need any romantic advice.”

Terra held up a hand. “How about advice on how to put together a sentence when someone asks you out?”

“No!”

Ventus rolled his eyes. “They don’t know you very well, so they don’t know your romantic stuff. Probably,” he eyed both of his friends before continuing on. “And talking about romance with them will get them thinking of romance and it goes on from there.”

Aqua covered her face with both hands. “Ok… its… it an idea. I’ll use it. Maybe.”

“Well, like I said, I’m not really any good at matchmaking, so maybe I am wrong about it,” Ventus looked at Terra slyly. “Maybe Terra could ask them in your stead if you’re too embarrassed Aqua.”

“I think they’d buy me asking even less then Aqua. I’ve been asked out way less then she has, usually because they get angry at me for not realizing they were trying to get me to ask them out first.”

“You’re both hopeless,” Ventus grumbled. “Ok fine then, let's move on from this idea then. Do you have any Terra? You are a partner in crime.”

“Me?”

“Yeah, matchmaking ideas, got any? Here’s one that mark spark something, maybe you could ask Aqua instead for advice in front of them on romance!”

“I feel that would open its own set of problems. They’d start bugging me on who I like, offering advice that I don’t need,” Terra grimaced. “I don’t want to make them think I have a crush when I don’t.”

“Oh yeah like they don’t already.”

“What?”

“Nothing. Fine then. Do you have any ideas to help Aqua out with her devious plan?”

“It's not devious!”

Terra looked up towards the sky, trying to gather his thoughts in between each pull of the oars. What ideas did he have to help Isa and Lea get together…

“Maybe, set up another dinner, but at the last minute say something came up so they end up in a romantic dinner all alone?” Terra raised an eyebrow at his friends. “That could work, yeah?”

“Mm… we would have to come up with a good excuse for why we bailed out suddenly,” Aqua managed to pull herself out of her hands, safe now that they were no longer on the thought of her getting romantic advice.

“Nah, if both of you say something came up, they won’t ask for explanation,” Ventus waved her concern away. “They might even make up an excuse for you on their own.”

“What if they make up something bad?”

“They’re good guys, they wouldn’t do that. ...Isa wouldn’t do that.”

“Hmm,” Aqua looked at Terra. “We can try it? Maybe later down the line when there's more expectation, after a couple more dinners maybe so they aren’t expecting us to bail on them regularly.”

Ventus suddenly wanted to ask if the extra dinners were for Lea and Isa’s benefit, or Aqua and Terra’s, but as he knew that line of questioning would get him nowhere, and kept his mouth firmly shut.

“Sure,” Terra shrugged. “We’ve got time.”

“We do,” Aqua drew her gaze back to the two men. Lea was talking animatedly at Isa, who was smirking as he seemingly refused to help row their boat. “Want to try knocking them together again Ven?”

“You’re gonna corrupt me with permission to do these things you know. And it didn’t work last time anyways,” Ventus looked around before standing up. Aqua quickly grabbed onto his sides to keep him steady, the rocking of the boat making her worried he was moments away from toppling into the water and taking them all with him. “Roxas!”

The boat his twin was in was some distance away, but the shout drew his attention from where he was looking at the fish below with Xion and Namine. “What?”

“I have a cool idea!

“Ok?”

“Lea’s bad at water magic!”

“I-Yeah sure?”

“Why are you yelling about me,” Lea’s boat was even farther away, but that would never stop him from immediately zeroing in on his own shouted name.

“Think what means, out here,” Ventus ignored Lea, focussing completely on Roxas as he waved towards the ocean.

“...that he sucks at magic?”

“Hey! None of you brats can beat me in fire and you know it!”

“He’s an easy target,” Ventus smirked. “Try non-offensive!”

Roxas and Xion exchanged a look while Naminé had her mouth open in an o of understanding. Aqua squinted up at Ventus, trying to parse his thinking. “Where is this-”

“Got it!”

Both Roxas and Xion turned to face towards Lea and Isa’s boats, keyblades summoned and pointed towards them. Isa pulled a face as the next few seconds became startling crystal clear in his mind. Lea raised himself up slightly, pointing at his best friends warningly.

“Don’t you dare.”

Both grinned. “Water!”

Two streaks of water went towards him and he squawked, summoning his own keyblade to deflect them.

Aqua suddenly found something off in the whole display, and leaned forward to look at Lea and his stance. It took a moment for her to put together what had piqued her attention, but when she did she hummed, the noise pulling Terra’s attention.

“Aqua?”

“There was a delay. Sorry no, it's not important right now.”

Ventus looked at the two of them with a frown, but yanked his head back to the loud complaints of Lea, struggling to use Isa as a balance. His friend though meanwhile was attempting to keep him back, wanting to protect himself from the soaking that was sure to come.

“Wait for the water fights till we get to shore so I can use one of the water guns!”

“It's not our fault you suck at water magic,” Roxas grinned. “You just don’t want to be outnumbered here.”

“You’re right! I don’t! Isa we need to paddle faster!”

“You were in charge of that.”

“Do you want to get splashed into the ocean here?”

Both men bickered as they quickly tried to out race the children cheering to hit them with blasts of water. Aqua tapped a finger against her chin before sighing at the failure of her plan.

“I was really hoping they’d fall into one another...”

“I didn’t think of it before, but isn’t it kind of dangerous to have a water fight in the middle of the ocean,” Terra gave her leg a nudge with his foot.

“I mean! Probably,” she shrugged. “But you know…”

“We’re all magic,” Ventus nodded. “Its ok.”

“Exactly, we’ve all proven that we’re a little sturdier than most people,” Aqua nodded vigorously. “If it really was dangerous, do you think I would’ve suggested it?”

“Hm,” Terra eyed her before nodding. “I guess we have all used magic in less serious ways. Lets just not go overboard..”

“Exactly. And I won’t. Go overboard I mean. I promised you that.”

“And don’t worry Terra,” Ventus punched Terra in the arm, earning him a pout as he grinned (there was no way Terra even felt that). “This time, we’ll watch out for Aqua in this! It's only fair after she kept track of us.... Well, keeps track of us all the time.”

Terra and Aqua blinked at one another before laughing as Ventus grinned at them.

“I guess that's a good way of looking at it,” Terra grinned. “It is nice to finally see Aqua being as reckless as us for once.”

“Maybe you just never noticed me being reckless before,” she sniffed before laughing again.

\--

Lea prided himself on being good at many things, and being  _ very _ good at a few of those things. He was good at talking to people, he was good at getting his ice cream at a discount. He was very good at annoying people, and he was very good at fire magic.

He was not very good at any other kind of magic.

In fact, he wasn’t even plain good at other kinds of magic.

It was an issue that he hadn’t worried about too much (fire was cooler), except for right now when it was coming to bite him in the butt.

“This is why we’re using water guns,” pointing at the bag filled with the toy guns, Lea stood in front of the gaggle of grinning children who had all conspired to leave him currently a dripping mess. “So it's fair and I don’t feel like you’re trying to drown me on dry land.”

“You have to get good at water magic someday,” Kairi grinned at him, hands on her hips. She wasn’t part of the initial water fight, as she, Sora, and Riku had already landed at the play island when the first Water was cast, but she was happy to immediately join the forces against Lea. It was important to take opportunities like this as they came around. “We’re just giving you the opportunity to practice it now.”

“No, this is definitely an opportunity for you guys to bully me,” he shook his head at them in disappointment. “I get it. I’m hurt, but I get it.”

“It's not all bad,” Xion grinned, pointing at Isa, who was sitting on the sand, grumpy that he had gotten caught in the crossfire. “You have Isa on your side in this fight!”

“Actually, after short consideration, I don’t want to be on his side. It's obviously the losing one.”

“Oh. Nevermind then Axel, you’re kinda screwed.”

“Wow. A low day for me,” Lea sighed, looking down at the bag of water guns. “I’d say I have an advantage since I have a monopoly on these things, but since you’re all cheating with magic…”

“Not cheating if you use what you got,” Roxas smirked at Lea.

“Besides,” Isa smirked. “You’d do the same exact thing if you could, wouldn’t you?”

“Well, yeah, but there’s not gonna be a day where we all have a flamethrower fight,” he grumbled. “So right now, I’m still calling this cheating.”

“You’re just bitter,” Xion stuck her tongue out at him.

“Maybe I just don’t wanna be on a team of me, myself, and I! Hey!” He pointed at Aqua, Terra, and Ventus, who as the stragglers were finally pulling in and tying their boat off. “You should join my team! Not you Ven, you’re out since you gave them the idea.”

“Aw come on,” He laughed, strolling over with his hands behind his head. “You’re having fun too.”

“Not the point,” he was having fun, lots of it actually. Mindless pranks and gentle teasing that hurt no one was refreshing after years of threats hidden behind sarcasm and an unhealthy amount of ambivalence. He was learning though that Roxas and Xion had picked up the urge to mess with people from him, and that this was all probably karmic retribution for giving them bad life lessons.

Why was he the guardian figure again?

Still. He didn’t want to be the only one on his side when the water fight sparked back up. “Aqua, Terra, you’re joining my side right?”

“Maybe later,” Aqua folded her arms, jerking her head back towards the rowboats. “Right now we need to unpack. All of us.”

There were a few grumbles and teasing threats (“We’ll drown you yet Axel.” “Man your guys threats were never this good in the Organization.”) as everyone headed back to the boats, pulling out all the treats and beach gear they had gathered for the day. There was a clamor on how to organize; where to put the umbrella’s so they’d still have space to run around on the beach, where to put the food so it wouldn’t get too sandy. Not wanting to get in the middle of a logistical nightmare, Lea grabbed all of the floats and air pump he had bought, sitting off to the side to get them all filled. Flicking the on switch once the pump was hooked on, he leaned back, watching the inflatable lounge slowly grow in size.

He felt vaguely uncomfortable resting there, and finally decided to blame it on his wet jacket vest, sticking to his skin. Shifting, he quickly unzipped it and placed it on top of the inflatable, hoping that it wouldn’t get too sandy on top of it. 

“Jeez, what the heck Axel.”

Looking up in confusion, he saw Roxas making a face at him that was a mixture of horror and sympathy, Kairi looking around him. They seemed to have been both in the process of unpacking the watermelons, but had stopped to stare at their spiky red headed friend. 

Kair gave Roxas a gentle shove, frowning. “Roxas. We all have scars, don’t be weird.”

“I mean, yeah no I know, sorry Axel. But,” Roxas’ eyebrows were pulled together in concern and frustration. “I never saw them before, it looks… I didn’t expect it to be that bad.”

Lea glanced down at his chest, laying a hand where his heart beat hard and strong. “Fire magic is volatile, what can I say.”

“That didn’t just come from accidents with fire.”

Lea sighed. “You know it didn’t Roxas.”

When he was recompleted, he hadn’t noticed the burn marks covering his torso, too distracted to mind. There were more important things to deal with, such as figuring out where Isa had gone and how to get the good guys to let him work with them to get his friends back. It was only during the first night he had laid down to rest in Merlin’s world frozen in time did he take off his coat to check why the skin beneath felt so irritated.

He had heard from Ienzo that when they recompleted, they kept the damage from their destruction, which was probably why he was always bugging Lea for a checkup. He felt vaguely sick at the realization that for at least two recompleted nobodies, he was the one responsible for lingering wounds.

Although, he didn’t really care about the burns on his own skin. He had similar scars before everything went down, the path to becoming skilled in fire magic a messy one. What he did care about was a rather rough and ugly scar gouged into his side, the shape of it suggesting something had torn right through his form. It was a wound that, if he wasn’t a Nobody at the time, he wouldn’t have been able to continue walking around for as long as he did afterwards. 

But it wasn’t what had taken him out, he was sure of it. He remembered smoke trickling out from his side, finding Sora, making a choice to at least save someone.

Then fire.

And then quiet.

Until he woke up back in Radiant Garden with irritated skin, surrounded by people he knew had plenty of reason to hate him, and with a goal that would throw himself back into danger.

The scar was luckily a wound that didn’t pain him much, despite being ugly and large, and he did his best to ignore it. It was just another part of his skin now, much like other wounds he had gathered over the years. So having both Roxas and Kairi looking at it now made him feel uncomfortable, as if he was being analyzed under a microscope.

“I told you, Roxas,” he shrugged. “Got recompleted, body decided to keep everything from my final moments, Ienzo explained why but I didn’t listen. Personally, I think I’m subconsciously trying to make sure I remember that its a bad idea to blow yourself up.”

“It looks terrible,” Roxas said bluntly.

“Yeah well,” Lea lifted up his vest. “I can put this back on?”

“No, no, I guess it's just. Like you told us, and I was watching with Sora when it...happened, but I guess seeing this really makes it. Real.”

He patted Roxas on the arm. “Yeah. But hey, I’m ok now, nothing to,” his eyes moved away from the kids in front of him, freezing as they landed on another pair of eyes staring at him. “Worry about…”

Isa stood a good amount of feet away from them, but Lea knew he was able to pick out the details of his skin. For a moment, he wished his burns had spread far enough that they’d cover up the terrible scar. Maybe then he wouldn’t see the traces of guilt, pain, and horror spread over Isa’s face, the memory of what created it lingering between them. 

Lea moved a hand to cover the scar, moving to intercede, to say something of comfort, but Isa had already turned and walked away, managing to slip to the shadows to make his departure quiet so no one else would know.

“Ah, shit shit shit,” Lea tossed the still wet vest on, feeling very stupid for not realizing before hand how seeing the scar would effect Isa.

“What,” Roxas turned, squinting. “Where’s Isa going?”

“Away because I’m stupid and didn’t think,” Lea grumbled, digging the heels of his hands into his eyes. “Why didn’t I think he’d get upset about it?”

Roxas made a face. “Why would he get upset about your scars?”

Lea didn’t answer, but Kairi quietly did. “I was… Saïx kidnapped me from Axel’s kidnapping, and he came a few times to come to uh...save me.”

“Yeah he told us that. They got into a really bad fight, and that's why when Axel showed up to help Sora he was already so exhausted,” Roxas waved a hand. “So?”

“Well,” Kairi met Lea’s eyes, twisting her fingers together in a way that almost reminded him of watching Namine when she was nervous. “Axel?”

He sighed, waving a hand. “There was a fight, a few fights as Kairi said I came multiple times to try and get her back. But… the last time I tried to get her out, after I cleared out the nobodies he sent in, Saïx surprised me, got me from behind,” he gestured to his side. “That's where this came in.”

Roxas blinked a few times, looking at the scar and the shape of it before scowling, fisting his hands at his side. “So, that's what killed you. Saïx stabbing you.”

“No, I’m still responsible for that,” Lea held up his hand. “I probably could have survived if I didn’t get stupid and self sacrificing then. That was all on me.”

“You don’t know that.”

He didn’t. But he really wanted to believe he was right. “I blew myself up Roxas. I kind of feel like that kind of trumps being stabbed.”

“With a claymore,” Kairi pointed out quietly.

He wished Kairi hadn’t seen that moment. He was an adult, he should’ve been making sure a kid like her didn’t see anything so gruesome. She didn’t deserve to watch anyone, even someone she probably hated at the time, get cut down in front of her.

He reached out a hand gently, palmside up, and she took it with a soft squeeze. 

“You know, I don’t think it counts as being honest, telling us that you got into a fight with Saix if you left out the point where he stabbed you,” Roxas glared at Lea. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell us that.”

“I told you we got into a fight, he beat me, and that's why I showed up so weak,” Lea ran a hand down his face. “Maybe I should’ve been more detailed about what happened there exactly but… you know I’m willing to tell you guys everything, no secrets whatsoever. But do you really want every single gory detail of those secrets, Roxas?”

Roxas opened his mouth then closed them, frowning. Lea did make it clear that leaving the fight with Saïx had put him in a situation where he wasn’t much actual help to Sora, he didn’t hide that. With a lot of things during secret week, Lea would tell them the basic details of something, enough so they understood the situation but not enough that they’d suddenly burst out crying.

They did a few times still. But not always.

Still he fixed Lea with a glare. “When it comes to how  _ he _ hurt you, yeah, I kind of do want all those details. He can’t get away with it.”

“He isn’t, and besides, it was more Saix then Isa,” he sighed. “It was a bad time, he was berserked and… I never liked when he went into that state. There was always a weird disconnect he’d go through whenever he used it.”

“He did seem to just be...instinct at the time,” Kairi agreed.

“Well, I’m upset at him for doing that to you. I’ll be upset for you since you’re too nice,” Roxas harrumphed. “So there.”

“I got it,” Lea wouldn’t argue with Roxas’s feelings. In fact, he wouldn’t argue with any of the kids being upset at Isa, or even himself. They had gone through too much shit for him to try and convince them they couldn’t feel a certain way. “But I do think he feels bad about stabbing me. Heck, at seeing my scar, he literally ran away.”

“He should’ve apologized instead.”

“Roxas, he already did. When he reformed he apologized towards a lot of shit that happened between us. This is just the first time he’s been confronted with this so upfront,” Lea rested his hand on his shoulder. “You can be angry all you want, ok? But you gotta accept that I’m not angry about this anymore. We’re working on getting past things like this, to not be our Nobody selves. He and I have done a lot of shit to each other, you know, it's not a one way street.”

“You didn’t stab him.”

“I could’ve, who knows,” He shrugged. “I was pretty desperate at the time.”

Roxas was quiet before punching Lea in the stomach, making the other man bow over with a grunt. “That's for not telling us everything about this. And for pretending you’re fine. I’m gonna give Isa one as well.”

“Understandable,” Lea wheezed. “Jeez you kids are gonna kill me one day…”

For a moment, Lea saw fear flicker behind Roxas’ eyes, and before he could apologize for the bad choice of words the kid threw his arms around him, hugging him tight. Kairi joined in, squeezing with an apology he didn’t deserve. He gently hugged them back, looking out at the ocean in quiet contemplation.

“We’re never gonna hurt you Axel,” Roxas mumbled, hiding his face.

“Yeah. I know...I know. I trust you guys.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoo boy, busy weeks. I've actually been writing this chapter along with the next chapter, so hopefully I can go back to weekly updates again, we'll see!
> 
> So Lea's scars. Nomura mentioned somewhere that when the Nobodies are recompleted, they keep the injuries from what killed them which is like. OW. Obviously for Lea he has the burns and everything, but the scar is a manga only detail that I like too much to give up. In the manga Saix does stab Axel, it's incredibly brutal and heart wrenching. I'd recommend reading it (or at least that part) cause it really gives a good character moment of why Axel went so easily in KH2.
> 
> In other details, I'm super excited for the KH3 DLC! I'm still hoping for a lot of stuff that wasn't shown in the trailer, but now is just a waiting game! I did ramble on a lot about it (and other E3 news) on my twitter, so if you're interested in that, follow me at @witchyroyalty!


	10. Chapter 10

If Isa had been in a better mood, he would’ve questioned why the other half of the island had a bridge that was falling apart, weird tall platforms to climb up on, and a large wooden star that waited up at the top of an awkward pathway. Wasn’t this island supposed to be a place where kids could run around with no worries? None of this screamed safety to him. But he ignored the cluttered scenery, focussing on finding a spot where he could be properly secluded from anyone else, to sit and contemplate his thoughts.

Although, they weren’t good thoughts to be alone with.

Finding a decently shady spot in the strange grove of trees, he sat down, quickly pulling his knees up so he could rest his head on them, and shut his eyes to hide from the cheery island waters laid out in front of him.

The scar on Lea’s side burned behind his eyelids.

The entire incident when he had stabbed Lea, no Axel, was actually hazy in his mind, emotions his Nobody body refused to believe in covering it in layers of confusion. It didn’t help he had been berserking at the time, which as time went on became more and more straining with each usage, as once he was snapped out of it, his actions felt distant, as if someone else was guiding his hands.

His main theory was that it opened him up more to Xehanort’s influence, encouraging him to give in more to the darkness in the shred of heart he possessed.

But he couldn’t prove it.

And that didn’t absolve him of the actions he took. He still had taken the first step that lead to Axel being stabbed. He was the one that had grown spiteful, the one that wanted to punish his oldest friend for betraying the Organization.

For betraying him.

If he hadn’t become such a perfect servant, hadn’t worked so hard to stand beside Xemnas, would he have realized that it was himself who ruined everything, who was betraying Axel… betraying Lea.

He heard the crunch of sand as someone approached his hiding spot, but he didn’t want to talk to whoever it was, so he kept his head down. If it was Lea, he didn’t want to see him again, to see the scar again and to further spiral into this dark hole of his own making.

He couldn’t handle it.

“Can I braid your hair?”

He flinched at the unexpected voice, his head yanking up on its own accord as Xion looked down at him with a smile, waiting for his answer. He hadn’t expected anyone besides Lea to bother following him away, and her question off balanced his mindset.

“I… don’t want to talk right now Xion,” he looked away, scared that the current mood he was in he’d lash out at her, that he’d fall into old habits she didn’t deserve.

“That’s ok, we don’t have to talk while I braid you know.”

He couldn’t help but look at her again, confusion falling over his face as she smiled at him, waiting for an answer.Would she leave if he refused her one more time?

Did he even deserve to refuse any of these people he had hurt so badly?

“Fine,” He shifted so she would have space to get to his hair, letting his head rest back on his knees. “Braid away. I don’t care.”

“Thanks!”

He felt his hair pulled away from his neck as she began carefully segmenting it into pieces, adjusting different locks to be even. She had actually gotten good at many different kinds of braids due to the multiple times he had been coerced into letting her practice on him, and he wasn’t sure what kind of braid he could expect in this moment. He wasn’t going to ask though, she could do whatever she liked.

The only sound was the wind and waves, gently cradling them in the moment.

His mind drifted back to Lea, wondering what was he doing. Roxas had been with him when he ran off, was he speaking with him now? Was Roxas learning the truth of the scar? Would he finally convince Lea to be done with him, to come over and pull Xion away from him as he didn’t deserve any kindness they could give.

“Do you have a hair tie?”

Yanked back down to reality, he blinked a few times against his knees before pulling one off his wrist, handing it back to her. She tied off the braid before gently laying it over his shoulder, shifting it till she was happy how it fell. “There you go, all pretty.”

“Thank you.”

“No problem!”

He held himself completely still, waiting for her to now leave, to finally get the hint and let him be. But when the sound never came to signify her departure, not even after several minutes passed (he counted the seconds), he gave a sigh, raising his head up to stare at her. She wasn’t even looking in his direction, instead watching the waves, her own knees hugged to her chest. She seemed content doing nothing, and her actions baffled him.

“What are you doing?”

“Watching the water.”

“...why?”

She shrugged. “Its nice, and it's so clear today, so I can’t watch the clouds for any funny shapes to pick out instead.”

“No I mean,” he put a hand to his forehead before sighing. “Why here? You could watch it back with everyone else, that has to be nicer than here.”

“Nah, I’d end up roped into Sora’s swimming bootcamp, there’s no way I’d could watch the ocean like this over there. And besides, you’d be alone if I did that.”

He knew he was smart and could figure out plenty of things on his own, but her reasoning escaped him. When she seemed to realize that he was struggling quietly to understand her attention, she shifted her body to look at him fully on.

“When we were still in the Organization, everything was so much worse when I went off on my own, it made it all a lot harder. And like, it was that way for Roxas too, and Axel. We don’t do well on our own,” she rested her head on top of her knees as she continued to hold his eyes to hers. “So I figured when I saw you leave, I’d just be here, so you don’t do anything on your own that could be bad.”

“I…” he didn’t deserve Xion’s care, no matter what form it came in. He never would, after everything he put her through. “What do you think I’ll do if I’m left on my own?”

“Mm,” she looked up at the clear blue sky, putting some thought into her answer. “Maybe run away further then just this beach. Or refuse to talk to Axel later, that would be bad. He’d be really sad if either of things happened you now.”

He scoffed, for a moment not believing her, before the guilt slammed down, threatening to bury him into the sand. It was an old habit, believing that Lea had changed so much that he wouldn’t care about what he did or what happened to him. But his dear friend cared so much, it was painfully obvious how much Lea cared. Isa just didn’t want to admit that he was the one who changed to the point he grew blind to his friend.

He cared as well, more now than ever, his heart pulling him down painfully with a reminder of how much he cared. 

But Lea was always better at handling that then he was, so much more open with his love then Isa ever felt comfortable with being

“I’m not going to run away,” he rested his head back on his knees. “So don’t worry about me.”

“Of course you’re not. I’d tackle you if you tried to, that's what friends do.”

“Thank you for having a plan then, just in case,” he mumbled, unable to help a small smile as she laughed quietly beside him.

They continued sitting together like that, and he began wondering if he should just suck it up and walk back with her so she didn’t waste her entire beach day, when he heard another person walking up to their quiet pair.

“Hey half-pint. Terra’s cutting open some watermelon, you should go get some.”

He felt frozen as his head held him down like a pile of rocks, unable to look up as he heard Xion scramble to her feet. “Ok! I’ll bring some back for you guys?”

“Sure, take your time.”

“Ok. I’ll be back Isa!”

Isa didn’t move as he heard Xion run off, didn’t even say goodbye, waiting instead for Lea’s first move, for him to say something. He wished that he wouldn’t, that he’d let him wallow in the guilt that he rightly deserved.

“You gonna mope all day?”

His head snapped up to glare at Lea, but he his eyes hesitated near his chest. The vest was back on, but not zipped, the burn marks the only thing peaking through. He still knew where the scar was though, where it was hidden away.

He would always know it was there.

“Go back to the others, I’m perfectly fine moping on my own,” he grumbled, turning his back to him.

“Jeez ok, no jokes right now got it,” Lea quickly circled around so he was back in line of sight, crouching down to be at eye level. “Can we talk? Today’s supposed to be a fun day, I don’t want you to just sit here and just, look like a kicked puppy.”

“I’m not a kicked puppy,” Isa scowled, knowing he’d be called out for being childish if he tried to move again away from Lea’s searching gaze. “Fine. We can talk. Although I already know you’re going to be wrong.”

“Ok, maybe I’ll talk for a bit before we both get heated here,” Lea shook his head, folding his arms as he gave him a serious look. “You know I’ve already forgiven you.”

“Oh look, I was right about you being wrong.”

“I can’t be wrong about what I feel, Isa.”

“You shouldn’t forgive me,” he hissed, moving a hand to grip his braided hair, fingers digging into the intricate design Xion had made, threatening to tear it apart. “I killed you. I did it willingly, that was me. I was angry and I wanted to hurt you.”

“Yeah, you did hurt me,” Lea sighed sadly. “Meanwhile though, I didn’t care what happened and ignored the fact that you obviously needed my help.”

“It wasn’t your responsibility-”

“You’re my best friend, it's my responsibility to help you when you get into bad situations like that,” Lea folded arms tightened against his chest, as if he was holding himself together. “I kind of failed you there.”

“Lea,” Isa’s struggled with his emotions, unsure if he wanted to cry or scream at him. “This is… I know you. You didn’t fail me. I failed you by thinking...thinking that your actions betrayed me. You got out, you chose better than I did. I chose to...to stab the only person I still cared about…”

“Yeah, well, I don’t know if I chose any better,” Lea settled down more comfortably down in front of Isa, separated by a foot of sand. “I was by your side with a lot of bad things, I made a lot of terrible decisions. I chose to ignore that anything bothered me. I guess it really was that last year when…”

“When Roxas and Xion reminded you what real friends looked like,” he winced at the bitterness dripping into his voice. Was he really past the jealousy that gripped him like a vice once? Or was he just desperately hoping he was.

“Yeah. You know, if you actually hung out with them like I did, instead of just making them go on missions, maybe you’d have started to change too.”

Isa blinked. “What?”

“I dunno. When I met Sora I had a weird moment of feeling, and then spending more time with Roxas and Xion it just grew. I think they were kind of forcing me into regrowing a heart with their super kindness,” he drummed his fingers along his leg, getting some of his nervous energy out. “If you had help regrowing your heart, maybe it would’ve been easier to make better choices.”

“No, it wouldn’t… Xemnas already put a piece of Xehanort in me, he was there for years,” he looked back down, staring into the sand between them. “I had already thrown away everything on the sheer hope of surviving at that point.”

“And for me to survive too.”

“And I threw you away the moment I thought you didn’t deserve it.”

“But when you reformed the first time, you did change, you made better choices. You helped to get Roxas and Xion bodies, you helped give us another chance to stop Xehanort.”

“An action born of guilt, nothing more.”

“Ok, I’m tired of this going in a never ending circle of self pity.”

Isa felt himself grabbed by the shoulders and shook roughly, his head snapping up to glare into Lea’s eyes. “What are you-” 

“Isa, we’ve both done some really shitty things, and a lot of them were to each other. Having a conscience again makes it really hard to come to terms with that and who we are now. You’ve got to remember though, I have forgiven you,” he gave Isa another shake. “I wouldn’t have done that if I didn’t think you really wanted to make up for all of that, and you are. Making up for it. And you’re already feeling more and more like my childhood friend who wore stupid clothes everyday.”

“You wore khakis as a fashion statement,” Isa felt his ears warm up at that being all he could come up with to reply back, but Lea just grinned at him.

“Oh yeah, I was terrible. At least I’ve learned I look better in dark clothes now huh?”

“You still look like a loser,” Isa muttered, glancing at his clothes, lingering where he knew the scar was. “I am...I am sorry…”

“I know you are. I’m sorry too, for leaving you behind.”

Isa took a deep, shuddering breath before reaching forward, fingers grazing Lea’s jacket vest before dropping his hand down. “I… can I see it again...please…”

“I… is that a good idea?” Lea pulled back from holding Isa, rubbing the back of his neck. “You looked pretty freaked out when you saw it.”

“It's part of you, and I gave it to you. I have to accept it at some point. Besides, it would be unfair to make you keep this on all day at the beach,” he gave Lea a weak smile.

Really, he didn’t want to see it again. But it was unfair to Lea to hide away himself just because Isa was uncomfortable. He wanted to move past this, he needed to.

Lea seemed to understand what Isa wasn’t saying, his hidden reservations, but he simply pursed his lips before slipping out of the vest, letting the sleeves hold onto his arms in case he needed to shrug it back on quickly. The burns were up front and center, but Isa’s eyes were immediately on that terrible scar, at the ugly way the skin had healed to hold Lea back together.

He could almost see each spike of his claymore in its shape, how it would’ve been positioned to carve into Lea. He knew the weapon better then his own heart after all.

“Its…”

“It doesn’t hurt,” Lea said gently, watching Isa’s face for any worrying changes. “In fact, the burns are what really gets to me. I guess I can’t help but annoy even myself, huh?”

“I wish I could take it away,” unable to help himself, he reached out and gently laid his hand over the scar, missing the way Lea took a hissed inhale of surprise. “Get rid of all this bad I left on you.”

“The… the memory is still going to be there Isa… but its not gonna keep bothering me. I know I have good memories to look forward towards with you.”

Isa gently brushed his fingers along the scar, looking up at Lea. He had gone still, the muscles in his neck clenched and Isa suddenly registered what he was doing and he lifted his fingers off his skin. “Should I stop?”

“No! No its...its like I said. It doesn’t hurt,” Lea slowly released a breath of air before giving a shrug. “Just… getting use to the feel. It's not a place people usually touch you know.”

Isa looked back at the scar before sighing, moving forward and resting his head against Lea’s chest, his hand settling down against the marred flesh. Lea hesitated before resting a hand on Isa’s head, letting him have this moment, no questions asked.

“You should go back to the others.”

“I’ll go back when you come with me. Besides, Xion’s bringing us watermelon.”

“She’s a good kid.”

“Mhmm.”

“...Lea-”

“We can just sit here and eat watermelon. Take your time.”

“Fine...fine...just...give me five minutes.”

“I’ll give you more.”

\--

“This is the worst thing that's ever happened to me,” Roxas grumbled as he clung to Riku’s neck, the taller boy smugly taking on the task of swimming for the both of them to look at the fish Kairi had found. “I can’t believe heart osmosis failed me. I can’t believe it. Somehow, Sora did this on purpose.”

“I wouldn’t put that past him, he really does want to teach someone how to swim. It is surprising though you got nothing with swimming, I mean you got Sora’s dancing skills. It's pretty inconsistent in what skills you do or don’t get,” Riku chuckled. “I guess that's what you get for being individuals. You’ll just have to put up with his lessons.”

“Please no.”

“Its that, floaties, or continue holding onto me like a koala.”

“Ugh,” Roxas leaned back, throwing his whole weight into the movement, making Riku struggle for a moment to keep them above the waterline. “What if when Xion gets back it turns out she can swim and I can’t! I won’t get to have fun with her!”

“Are you being unnecessarily dramatic Roxas,” Kairi was treading water, waiting in the deeper water with Naminé (who had proven that she did know to swim), multicolored fish swimming below them. “You’ll probably pick up swimming really quick you know!”

“I don’t care if I will. It's unfair,” Roxas complained, before looking down at the fish curiously. “Why are they all the way down there, do we have to go underwater?”

“No, they’re just scared of us. If we stay awhile, they might get used to our presence and come closer.”

“If they were smarter fish, they wouldn’t get close at all,” Riku grinned. “Remember when we decided we needed to gather food for the raft? Sora just grabbed some fish like these ones and we just thought oh yeah, we can totally just eat these raw fish no problem. It was kind of mean of us.”

“I think one of them flopped off back into the ocean and escaped! So not all of their fishy lives are on our conscience.”

“Poor fish,” Naminé looked at the fish below them, worried for their potential doom.

“These fish are fine, we aren’t gonna try and catch them. Although Sora is pretty good at cooking now...”

“Oh no!”

“He’s not going to cook these fish,” Kairi reassured Naminé. “Don’t worry, these are safe, you won’t be seeing any fish death today.”

She didn’t look convinced, staring back where Sora was excitedly chopping open watermelon with Ventus, Aqua keeping watch to make sure they didn’t go overboard.

"Don’t think too much about it Naminé. Enjoy the fishes! What's that one though?" Roxas pointed at one of the colorful shapes below them, squinting. "It doesn't look like a fish."

"Uhhh… that one?" Riku pointed.

"Yeah."

"That's a starfish."

"It is a fish?" 

"Well, no? Yes. It's a fake fish," Riku nodded. “A fish in name only.”

"Riku, don’t just make things up if you don’t know," Kairi rolled her eyes

"Well do you know Kairi?"

"Actually, yeah. Unlike you and Sora, I actually went to school, learning about things like the fish living near our islands instead of going on adventures."

"Oh. Right," he gave her a sheepish smile. "I guess that actually makes you the smartest one out of us."

“Oh, that's never been up for debate,” she laughed. 

They continued looking at the different fish, Riku floundering for answers as Roxas kept asking him to name all the different species, Kairi refusing to help him. Naminé managed to get a few to come closer, cooing and promising that she wouldn’t let Sora get near them.

Roxas saw the moment Xion returned, gathering up three slices of watermelon in her hands. Squinting, he frowned as she waved off Sora’s words (probably him trying to corner her finally into swimming bootcamp), before running back where Isa had disappeared too.

And where Lea had later followed.

“Hmph,” He grumbled, resting his chin on Riku’s shoulder, staring blankly into the water. The silver hair boy noticed that his tag a long had transformed into a much grumpier one, and he shrugged his shoulders to try and jostle him out of the sudden mood shift.

“Hey? Do you not like the fish or something?”

“I like fish,” Roxas mumbled. “They’re better then some stupid people I know.”

“...Am...Am I one of those stupid people?”

“What?” Roxas pulled back, shaken out of his thoughts before frowning. “No. I mean, you can be super stupid sometimes-”

“Oh, thanks.”

“-but like, you’re a good stupid. You did a bunch of things that made me upset, but I get it. Like, I would do anything for my friends, you would do anything for yours, it's the same thing,” he waved a hand with a sigh. “We’re the same. But some people… they do things and I just don’t get it.”

Riku looked at the beach, eyes resting on where Terra was standing. The man was holding a whole watermelon, ready to toss it up into the air for Ventus and Sora to try and smash open. Aqua was scrambling behind him to get something to keep it from falling into the sand and ruining their snack. They all looked happy, and content.

Although he knew that there were things he just couldn’t see hiding underneath that contentment, things he didn’t understand.

“Is this about when Isa wandered off?”

“...maybe.”

“Hm… I uh, don’t really know what you don’t understand with him, and also I don’t know if it's really my place to say anything...” Riku swam them over to where some fish had risen up closer so Roxas could get a better view, and to give them a bit of space in case the boy didn’t want the others listening in. “You’re right, there is a lot of stuff between us that's the same. There’s also a lot things though that I think you wouldn’t understand why I did it. I thought those things at the time were good. I know now that it was bad stuff, but I was a different person then,” he tilted his head back to look a Roxas. “Perspective, you know?”

“...no?”

“Ok, listen,” he sighed. “Perspective changes how you look at things.”

“Yeah I know that much.”

“Right. Now, I don’t know why you’re angry with Isa right now, I thought you guys were getting along better?”

“We are. Well we were. I dunno.”

“Right. Well, I’m pretty sure you’re angry with something he did in the past, not something from today right?”

“I...yeah.”

“And the thing in the past is what you can’t understand?”

“No. I mean yes. I mean,” Roxas waved a hand. “What does this have to do with perspective?”

“It doesn’t really, at least not with your problem with Isa I guess,” Riku shrugged. “But for me it does. I was just trying to say that, you might feel you understand a lot of things with me, but I know there's things I’ve done you probably don’t understand. So with Isa there’s probably a lot of things you don’t understand, but there’s also a few things you would understand that he’s done.”

“Huh,” Roxas considered. “I’m still angry at him though.”

“Yeah, I can’t do much about that.”

“And I feel like if I could understand why he hurt uh…”

“A friend?”

“Sure. Why would someone hurt a friend like. They’re your  _ friend,  _ you’re never supposed to hurt them.”

“Oh, you really sounded like Sora for a second,” Riku hummed while Roxas rolled his eyes. “But I get that. Why someone would hurt a friend a mean.”

“...what?”

“Well, when me, Sora, and Kairi first left the islands in uh, not so great circumstances, I thought Sora had betrayed us. That he had forgotten us and replaced us with new friends. So I tried to hurt him, in a lot of ways.”

“Weren’t you like, possessed by Ansem or something?”

“Not the whole time. Most of the stuff I did then was just me being...jealous.”

“...oh,” Roxas shifted uncomfortably on Riku’s back.

“Yeah. I was really a brat,” Riku let out a tight laugh. “But like, Sora and Kairi helped me back. They didn’t have too, and I tried a lot of times to just leave because I didn’t think I deserve them.”

“We really need to stop with all of us trying to disappear suddenly for each other.”

“Ha, yeah. But what I guess I’m just saying is, I get trying to hurt the people closest to you. It doesn’t come from being in a good place, and I don’t think anyone whose hurt a friend purposely really knew in the moment what that would actually do. I think we’re just trying to prove… that we’re the right one in the situation.”

“Right?”

“Yeah. That it wasn’t our own fault for everything getting so bad. We can’t go back to how it was, so we lash out and destroy more of it. Until we realize that we just made things worse, and we have to make up for a lot more than if we had just talked.”

Riku poked a fish on its side, watching it swim off in shock while Roxas mulled over his words.

“...you did make up for it. I mean, Sora, Kairi and you are super close now.”

“We are. It took effort and them being the two brightest people I know who wouldn’t let me just mope in a pit. Do you think Isa has made up for his shitty faze?”

Roxas thought of things that Isa did and scowled. “I mean, yeah. He’s done a lot for us, Xion and I wouldn’t even be here now if it weren’t for him. But like, doing things like that just...it doesn’t feel equal to what he did.

“No, it doesn’t. But hey, you get to put as much worth on those attempts at making up as you feel comfortable with. You get to say if you think he’s done enough.”

Roxas slipped back into silence, holding out a hand in the water to let the fish come and inspect his fingers. His feelings towards Isa were complicated, he didn’t think anyone was unaware of that. But… he had been calling him Isa. He didn’t fully know why, but he felt by accepting this different name for the man was a sign that he actually was growing more comfortable with the man. Heck, he had texted Isa a meme the other day, something he had actually seen him laugh at.

Things were changing between them, and he was feeling more and more lenient to the man. He was happier more and more to include him as a friend.

“I guess,” Roxas started, making Riku twitch at how loud his voice was in his ear. “I’m kind of ok with what Isa did to me, I feel like he’s made it up to me on that front. But when I think of what he’s done to Xion and… Axel I get… I get really upset.”

Riku nodded. “You know, Xion and Axel probably get upset thinking about the stuff he did to you, more than their own stuff sometimes.”

“What? He didn’t do anything to me that even comes close to the stuff he did to them, that makes no sense!”

“Yeah, but we don’t like watching people we care about get hurt. You can take as much punishment as possible as long as your friends are ok, right?”

“I…” Roxas thought about it before sighing. “Yeah, I guess so…”

“I don’t… I don’t really have all the answers towards this Roxas, but maybe you should talk to them about what you’re feeling. And to Isa. Especially if you want to understand his past actions and how you’ll come to terms with it now.”

“Eurgh,” Roxas made a face. “What if he doesn’t want to talk about it?”

“Do you think he won’t?”

Roxas thought of everything Isa had been doing for them lately, how he always listened to anything they asked of him and did his best to help them out. “I guess he would be open to it…”

“Try it out. You’ll feel better about things if you do.”

“I’ll feel better if I punch him.”

“I thought you already did that?”

“No that was Xion.”

“Oh. Huh.”

“She’s awesome right?”

“If I even tried to disagree with you, you’d drown me.”

“You’re damn right!”

They both laughed together, scaring away the fish in their gentle glee.

\--

Aqua stared up at the sky, glad that Kairi had convinced her into buying a large pair of sunglasses. It was a beautiful, sunny day, although she wondered if it ever was not a beautiful, sunny day in the Destiny Islands. 

Probably when it fell to darkness it wasn’t, although she quickly dismissed the thought.

She shouldn’t think like that right now, today was for good thoughts only.

Although she still worried, at Isa wandering off, Xion and then Lea following soon after, of the things she knew nothing of. Going herself to check on them probably wouldn’t have helped the situation, but she wished she could help her friends more with whatever they were going through.

She couldn’t fix everything, she knew that, but she felt it was important to at least try.

With a sigh she turned on her side, trying to get more comfortable before flinching at seeing Terra staring back at her right at eye level. “What?”

“For someone who called Lea out for trying to be lazy at the beach, you sure are managing a great impression of him.”

She let out a laugh, looking down at her position. She had stolen the extra large lounge float he had gotten (no doubt to make up for his height) and was resting on the water while the others had their fun. She rolled herself onto her stomach, putting her chin on her hands as she stared back at him. “Unlike Lea, I helped cut open ten watermelon. I deserve a little moment.”

“You helped cut open seven watermelon. The last three Ven and Sora smashed open.”

“I caught the pieces that went everywhere!”

“Most of them.”

“Most of them,” she agreed, watching as he swam to the head of her float so they could stay eye to eye. “You meanwhile just enabled their destructive tendencies.”

“Hey, it was fun, and that watermelon they smashed? I bet you it’s going to taste the best.”

“Oh, so the smashing makes the flavor better?”

“You said it, not me.”

“Silly,” she snorted, giving his nose a flick. “So what are you doing? Just taking a swim?”

“I was thinking of seeing how long it would take me to do a lap of the island,” he nodded. “No magic.”

“Hm…” She looked at the island before back at him. “Ten minutes.”

“Ouch. I was gonna try for five.”

“I would be very impressed if you managed that,” she laughed. “Do you want me to time you?”

“You don’t wanna join?”

“No, I don’t want to get my hair wet.”

“Got it,” he got himself positioned before giving a nod. “Ok, on your mark.”

“Three, two, one...go!”

He set off as fast as he could in the water, and she set the timer on her phone (it was nice that it was also waterproof, Chip and Dale really keeping in mind everything that the keyblade wielders could put it through), watching him go with a smile. 

She really appreciated that he had set this day for everyone, they all had needed it.

She needed it.

“Hey Aqua!” Sora was swimming over, awkwardly balancing a bowl of watermelon on his head, Ventus meanwhile going to look at fish with everyone else. “Do you want some watermelon?”

“Mm, is it from the smashed ones?”

“How did you know?”

“Honestly? Just a guess. And sure, I was told that this one is supposed to taste really good,” she took the bowl and put it on the floaty so Sora wouldn’t have to keep bobbing along awkwardly with it. “Thank you Sora.”

“Not a problem!” He grinned, putting his arms on the floaty so he could eat with her. “Hey, where’s Terra? I was going to give him some too.”

“Oh, he’s taking a lap of the island,” she held up her phone. “I’m timing him. He has to be here soon, or else I win.”

“What do you win?”

“I-” she blinked before shaking her head. “We didn’t choose any kind of prize, I guess just bragging rights?”

“That's kind of disappointing… oh! I know! I know what the prize should be!” He leaned in to whisper to Aqua, who tilted her head in amusement, curious who exactly they were keeping this a secret from.

After he whispered the idea, he pulled back with a grin as she frowned. “I… why that of all things?”

“It's easy! And if I beat like, Riku or Kairi’s time around the island, then that's what I would want! It's nice having a prize like that waiting for you.”

“Ahuh,” she would’ve said more when she spotted Terra coming around the bend. “Oh. He did get it right, dang.”

“Yeah! Terra you can make it!” Sora waved his arms wildly at the man as he took a final burst of energy to reach them, gasping in exertion.

“Woo, I think I’m ready to push you off this and take my own nap now,” Terra grinned cheekily at Aqua as she rolled her eyes at him, before spotting the bowl of watermelon. “Oh good, I need this.”

“Well, you made it, not exactly 5 minutes but you beat me,” she showed him his time which he glanced at before grabbing a chunk of watermelon.

“Nice, makes this even sweeter.”

“You think everything makes watermelon sweeter.”

“Watermelon is good.”

“Congratulations Terra! Aqua! You have to give him the prize!” Sora nudged her with a bright smile. “Remember! We were just talking about it!”

“Oh,” she squinted. “Right.”

“What prize? I would’ve tried even harder if I knew there was a prize waiting for me,” Terra took a bite of watermelon, waving at them. “Sho?”

“Don’t talk with your mouth full,” Aqua sighed before nodding. “Fine, since you did win.”

Terra wasn’t sure what to expect, and was about to take another bite of watermelon when Aqua placed a hand on his shoulder, leaning in and giving his cheek a gentle kiss. He blinked a few times, his mind misfiring as he tried to process what exactly just happened.

She pulled away giving a gentle pat to his hair. “There you go. Congratulations on winning.”

“I… yeah. Thanks,” he quickly took another bite of watermelon. Better to eat then focus on whatever his mind was trying to say.

“Aqua, you should time me next!” Sora bounced up and down in the water. “Oh! Or we can get everyone to race each other! You can be our referee!”

“Probably not for anyone, Roxas still does need to learn how to swim before he gets into any races.”

“Oh yeah. Well, ref for me and Riku! I know I can beat him now!”

“Not Kairi?”

“She’s a faster swimmer than me, I know I can’t beat her. Well, maybe I can with my keyblade but that's cheating.”

Aqua smiled as Sora rattled off the different kind of races they could all do together, Terra steadily working through the bowl of watermelon as if his life depended on it. Glancing at the beach, she saw Xion leading Lea and Isa back, gesturing to wildly as she explained some story to them.

She hoped things were ok there. Isa looked a bit tired, arms holding himself tight as he gave Xion a patient smile, while Lea appeared to be keeping an eye on him, as if he was waiting for him to fall apart.

“Hey Terra?”

“Hm,” he looked up from the watermelon, and she wondered momentarily at his look of suspicion. “Yeah?”

“Maybe later, we should get everyone into a volleyball match. Easier to teach the rules then teaching someone to swim.”

“Roxas will eventually let me teach him,” Sora lifted a fist, giving it a shake. “He can’t escape me forever!”

“You’ll get your chance Sora, I believe in you,” Aqua giggled. 

“Heck yeah! I’m gonna go see if Xion is ready to test if she can swim, maybe see if she’ll help me convince Roxas to accept swimming lessons.”

“Good luck then.”

Terra and Aqua gave a wave as he swam away and she sighed, laying her head back down on the floaty. “This was a good idea, Terra.”

“Even though you’re stressed? Don’t pretend, I know you’re worrying unnecessarily right now.”

“Even though I’m stressed. Good job for figuring it out already,” she poked his cheek and he chuckled. “I’m still enjoying myself. Take the compliment already Terra.”

“Its nothing, really. There’s harder things I could’ve done.”

“Don’t down play it. This is really nice.”

“Well, thanks.”

“...speaking of harder things though, did you and Riku-”

“I texted him that I wanted to talk about the letter from Yen Sid. Nothing else.”

She looked at him and he glanced away, not wanting to see what her eyes would pick out from him. She gently gave his arm a pat. “Ok. I know you, you’ll get it done. I trust you.”

“Mm. We really do look out for each other.”

“Of course we do,” she smiled. “If we didn’t, it would all be on Ven, and he would complain all day about that.”

Terra let out a bark of laughter and she joined in, glad that she had such a good friend who worked hard to cheer her up. She hoped that she could do the same for him.

\--

“Ok, I’m gonna move away now, just keep a hold of my hands and start kicking. I won’t let you sink,” Lea smiled at Xion encouragingly. “Ready?”

Making a face that suggested she was having second thoughts about the entire idea of swimming, she gave a small, stiff nod. Moving extremely slowly, he took steps back in the water as Xion worked to stay afloat just as he had shown her. Beginning to move forwards, Xion began kicking her legs, and he made sure to keep a critical eye on her form so she wouldn’t pick up any bad habits

“Keep your legs a bit straighter, don’t let them flop all over the place.”

“That's… harder than you make it sound,” she gritted her teeth before coming to a stop, panting as Lea moved in to keep her up. “People weren’t made to swim.”

“Eh, yeah we are, you’re just new to this,” Lea smiled, ruffling her wet hair. “Now you know what I feel like when wielding a keyblade.”

“But that's easy.”

“Yeah, well, not to everyone. Ready to try again?”

“No,” she groaned before tugging at his hands. “Ok lets go.”

“Yes ma’am,” he laughed, grinning as she kept stubbornly going. He led her in a few lazy circles, letting her send up waves of water as she did her best to kick her legs as if her life depended on it. He could tell she’d pick it up quickly, all it would take is a bit of experience and confidence. After several minutes of kicking she called for a break, and he helped her float on her back, staying close and nudging her up anytime she began dipping a bit to low in the water.

“You know we can get the floaties, it’ll make practice easier until you get the hang of this.”

“I wanna try it without them for a bit so I get the feel first,” Xion sighed, splashing her hands before struggling to keep herself up, Lea reaching over to help her steady herself. “Swimming looks so fun, but it's so off balanced.”

“You’ll get it eventually. And then you’ll be a pro and be swimming laps around me.”

“No way! I bet you swim super fast, cause you’re so long!”

“I’m tall.”

“No, long.”

“Sure, fine, whatever,” he rolled his eyes, gently spinning her around as she giggled, his eyes moving away to stare up at the paopu tree everyone likes to sit at.

Currently, it was Isa and Roxas taking up its space, Isa standing while Roxas sat on the tree. They both had serious expressions, as Isa quietly explained something, occasionally moving a hand for emphasis, while Roxas frowned and interjected occasionally. Lea wished he could be there to help mediate things, but Roxas had made it clear when he had dragged Isa away that he needed to talk to him on his own.

It was just him watching from afar, hoping everything would be alright.

“Stop worrying,” he jumped as Xion sent a splash of water at him, giving a laugh at his pout. “You’re supposed to be teaching me how to swim.”

“Sorry,” he chuckled. “You know, Sora’s gonna be really disappointed if you don’t let him teach you anything, after all that effort he went through to make swimming bootcamp.”

“He can give me one lesson, but I want to learn from you. You always teach me stuff, so you should be the one to teach me this too!”

Lea felt a lurch in his heart that made him want to cry and smile. Instead he gave a small laugh, grabbing her shoulders and spinning her around in the water as she giggled. “Well then we should try a few more rounds hm?”

“Nooo, give me a bit more of a break,” she laughed, splashing at his face. “Am I at least getting better at floating?”

“Much better, try to keep your whole body up, if you let your middle dip so low you’ll start to sink,” he nodded. “If you need a longer break, we can go back to shore.”

“Nah, here’s good… I wanted to talk to you about Isa anyways where the others can’t hear.”

“Ah...I thought you said I should stop worrying about them.”

“I did. This is me worrying about you,” she looked at him, holding out a hand that he immediately reached out to hold. “Are you ok Axel?”

“I...yeah of course I am. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Axel…”

“What? I am!”

Shifting, she scrambled to grab onto him and he moved to help, sinking lower into the water so she could latch onto his shoulders. “Axel, you know, you talk a lot-”

“Where is this going.”

“-but sometimes it feels like you aren’t saying anything.”

“...what the heck does that mean?”

“It means,” she gave a single pat to his arm. “That you got hurt too, really hurt. It's not just Isa feeling bad about this, it's also about how you feel about it. Are you ok? You know you don’t have to always be the one apologizing, right? You can be the one whose taken care of for once.”

He gave her a sad smile, ruffling her hair so that it stood up thanks to the water, and she wrinkled her nose at him. “I don’t need to be taken care of.”

“Yes you do.”

“Not really. Listen,” he looked her straight in the eye, stopping her in her tracks before she could try to interrupt him.. “All I want Xion is having you, Roxas, and Isa in my life. That's all. You being here is taking care of me, and it means the world to me. Means I’m finally doing something right.”

“Axel-”

“Let me finish,” he put his hand over her mouth, giving her a look. “We both know I got a lot of shit going on. But right now, I’m handling it. And I don’t want you to try and solve it for me. All I want from you is to be a kid. And maybe give me a hug when I get sad.”

She stared at him before licking his hand, making him quickly yank it back. “Ugh gross, your hand is salty.”

“You picked that up from me. I can’t believe you would use my own move against me.”

“It's your own fault for teaching us all your moves,” she moved forward, giving him a tight hug before he could respond. “You’re wrong about not needing us to take care of you more, but that's ok. We’re already used to you being wrong about a lot of things.”

“...thanks?”

“Mhmm. Is the hug helping?”

“...yeah. It is,” he wrapped his arms around her, holding on tight.

He didn’t feel the scars on his torso anymore. Just the warmth of the sun and of the love of his friend. After letting himself have a few moments he let out a  deep sigh before spinning her around in the water, making her shriek in delight. “Ok, enough distracting! Back to your lessons!”

“Aw Axel!”

“No complaining! Or else the dreaded kraken named Sora will be after you!”

“Noo!”

He grinned as he helped her back into swimming position, guiding her along. As long as he had his friends with him, moving together in life, he’d be fine. It was all he wanted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A lot of sea-salt family in this one, one more beach chapter before we move onto other scenes! This is only the beginning of their vacation day after all.
> 
> And wow, ten chapters, I'm really happy I've made it this far and I still feel pretty motivated to keep writing. I'm gonna do a bit of clean up probably, fix some grammar stuff I know I left behind in the previous chapters, and hopefully keep going strong! Thank you all for reading and commenting!


	11. Chapter 11

Roxas kicked his legs out, letting them swing back and forth from his position on the paopu tree. He was giving his companion the side eye, watching to see if he had any reaction to the potential of being kicked, and he was disappointed to see he hadn’t even flinched. Isa had his forearms pressed against the tree, back to the ocean, as he patiently waited for Roxas to speak. 

It was for the first time that they were spending time alone together. Roxas had first realized that fact when he had sat down, faced with only Isa looking at him expectantly.

Sure, his other friends weren’t that far away, he could actually spot Lea helping Xion learn how to swim (he had been relieved to know she also didn’t pick up that skill from Sora, that he wasn’t left alone in that regard), but they were still rather isolated from them. But they were given space that Roxas wanted, Isa having given him a single nod when the boy had all but demanded that they talk. 

And here they were at the paopu tree, ready to talk.

A little part of him felt bad, bringing rough feelings to a place that was like the clocktower for Sora, Riku and Kairi, but he couldn’t think of anywhere else on the island he’d be comfortable with this. The height advantage was also one he wouldn’t find in many other places without being obnoxious about it. Isa may not have Lea’s height, but he still was an imposing figure for the boy who was destined toward’s Sora’s shorter genes. 

He wanted to make sure that there was no question who was in charge here, that he was the one calling the shots. If Isa said anything he didn’t like, he would be ready to slam back with the punishment.

Of course, Isa had to speak up first.

But that was on him, wasn’t it, to get the ball rolling? He did drag them there, he did say that they needed to speak. He kicked his legs out harder, frowning as he tried to come to terms with what he wanted to say.

He should’ve planned this out better.

“Isa?”

“Yes?” The man turned to fully face him, giving Roxas his full attention.

He didn’t have a follow up question prepared, so after a moment of opening and closing his mouth like a fish, he gestured. “Xion braided your hair.”

“...yes. She did.”

“And you already messed it up,” he pointed at the loose strands sticking out from the braid. Isa lifted his hand, catching them between his fingers.

“I did.”

“Jeez,” he rolled his eyes, looking off. “You should’ve taken better care of it, you know she really works hard on that sort of thing.”

“I’m sorry. That I messed it up,” Roxas was dragged to look back at Isa, the man trying to tuck the strands of hair back into the braid. It wasn’t helping it at all, and probably would just end up looking worse once he was done. “She did a good job.”

“Well yeah. She did. She’s gotten really good at it,” he hunched his shoulders up to his ears, scowling for no reason but because he felt he had to.

“Yes, she has… Roxas-”

“Why did you do it,” he couldn’t look at Isa, his eyes wandering down as he struggled through words. “Why did you hurt Axel like that? You didn’t… you shouldn’t have.”

“... you’re right. I shouldn’t have done that.” 

“Then why did you,” Roxas snapped, glaring at the ground, his fingers gripping the tree hard.

Isa sighed, pushing his palms together. “It's… a rather complicated answer I suppose. And most of it you… probably won’t like.”

“Yeah no shit,” he sniffed. “I still want to know, like. I don’t… I don’t understand how you could do that. I don’t understand it.”

The man was silent for a long time and Roxas peeked up at him. Isa appeared to be struggling in his own way with words, touching his throat momentarily before giving himself a nod.

“You remember when I said I was… jealous.”

“Yeah, of me and Xion.”

“And of Lea. My jealousy towards yourself and Xion was wrongly placed, a deflection of my real feelings. But Lea… I was jealous of him the most in the end,” he pushed fully off the tree so he could stand in front of Roxas, and the boy slowly lifted his head to stare at him. “It was a jealousy born out of anger. I was… I was so angry at him. More than anyone else.”

“Why? He didn’t do anything to you!”

For a moment it seemed Isa wanted to refute him, and Roxas wondered faintly what Lea’s actions had looked like on the other side of the fall out. “You’re correct. I… how much has Lea told you about his and my relationship over the years?”

“He explained a lot of it during secret week. You guys were best friends, really close, then the Organization happened and it fell apart.”

“Secret week… that does sound like something he would do,” he coughed, waving on. “I had high expectations, for the both of us, while we were in the Organization. We entered together, we had the past together. We would be able to reach our shared goals, reclaim our hearts, everything. And it would be... together.”

“...yeah?”

“I was wrong. The Organization was never a situation that if we played our cards right, we could gain what we wanted. It was never a place that let friends easily cling to one another,” he gave Roxas a meaningful look, which he bristled at but he bit his tongue, waiting. “Lea followed me still, through it all, for longer then he should have in that delusion. So when he began to take the steps out…” he shook his head, considering the events in his mind's eye. “No, even before that, before…”

“Me and Xion.”

“Yes. I was angry at him long before the two of you came along.”

“But… I still don’t get why?”

“Because… Roxas forgive me if I’m being too vague, but it was just generally everything. He played the role of distant rogue well, which kept him far from the abuse of… Xemnas, while I pushed my way to be in the thick of it. The more we performed in our chosen roles, the more I believed that he didn’t care about me, and the angrier I got at how easily he had deceived me to believe he did before. I was wrong, but that's what I believed at the time.  I was bitter and placing it on him unfairly,” he let out a small shrug. “After all, most of what we did in the Organization was my idea.”

Roxas frowned, looking at where Lea was talking to Xion. The man had spoken at length about some of the terrible things he had done during his years as the Organizations assassin, how he had taken the orders gladly, always taking credit for his actions. “I don’t think Axel thinks of it like that.”

“He’s too kind,” Isa eyes softened momentarily in thought. “He may disagree with me on that, but I do wonder if so much blood would have ended up on his so-called willing hands if I didn’t point the way first.”

They were quiet, Roxas watching Lea and Xion speak, the way she was pulling their tall friend into a hug making him think harder on Isa’s words. He currently didn’t look like someone who had willingly gone along with plans to hurt people.

But he knew how outside appearances could hide so much inside.

“Ok… so you were angry at him. I got pretty angry too with him when he was lying to us all the time, but I didn’t stab him. Even when I didn’t really remember him yet.”

“No, you did not,” Isa’s voice had fallen in volume, and Roxas had to strain to listen. “You were a true friend.”

“Hmph,” Roxas eyed him. “So? Ok you were angry. Why did you stab him?”

“By that point, I had completely written him off. I knew he wasn’t going to change back into what I wanted him to be, and all those years of anger were finally coming together. It didn’t help that I believed I couldn’t be angry, that the only thing guiding my hand was pure logic,” he held out a hand, clenching it till his knuckles turned white. “Considering all the actions he had taken, the effort he had gone through for you, for Kairi, for Xion even though he couldn’t remember her, and not for me… I made the choice to hurt him so he’d know my pain.”

“...so you stabbed him?”

“Yes,” He looked Roxas in the eyes. “I stabbed him.”

Roxas stared back, a glare on his face, but Isa’s gaze didn’t waver as he stared back, and finally Roxas had to take a deep breath in. “And?”

“And… the moments after that felt like slow motion. I don’t… I didn’t believe that would kill him, he has always had a habit of sticking around. When I heard he perished after saving Sora well… it further fed my belief that he was in the wrong,” he folded his arms, frowning at the ground. “My anger overshadowed my grief. And then I was destroyed, not long after him.”

They were silent for a long moment, Isa gripping tightly to his arms as he waited for Roxas to say something. The boy meanwhile was watching the man, evaluating his movements, the expression that wavered on his face. He had never seen Isa cry, but if he had to guess, he would be close to it now.

“What do you… what do you think of all that now?”

“It was childish. And wrong. Which is a gross oversimplification, but also the truth,” he looked into Roxas, eyes barely holding back the plea within him. “And I want you to believe me Roxas when I say this, that I will regret that day for the rest of my life. No matter how things change, no matter how much Lea lets me back into his life, how you and Xion let me in, I will always regret those actions,” he put a hand to his heart. “But I’m not going to let that regret hold me back if you three are willing to let me try and make it better. Which I am trying to do, everyday that I’m here. I know you are angry at me for this. I’m angry at myself for it. But I can’t change it or remove it.”

“I know you can’t.”

“Please believe me then, now, that I am willing to do whatever I have to to make it so you, Xion and Lea, can move past it without being bogged down by my mistakes. And that I am truly sorry.”

Isa and Roxas stared at each other, and slowly Roxas nodded. “I believe you.”

“Thank you.”

“And you apologized to Axel already, yeah?”

“As much as he’d let me.”

“Good,” Roxas stared off before looking back at him. “I’m kind of… still angry about you doing that. But thank you for explaining to me, you didn’t have to.”

“You asked me too. It's only fair.”

“Man, please don’t get into secrets week like Axel did, I could only take it from him cause he’s my best friend,” Roxas let out a slow breath of air before squinting at the man. “Can I ask some more things?”

“Of course.”

“What if you don’t like my questions?”

“I don’t think I’m in the position to refuse you, Roxas.”

“Yeah you are,” he pointed aggressively in his direction. “Don’t be some weird push over just because you feel guilty. Yeah you have to keep working on making up for things, but like. Also just be Isa. I actually like Isa a lot better than Saïx you know.”

Isa gave a small smile before it slipped off his face again. “You know, they are one in the same.”

“What?”

“Isa and Saïx. I just… Isa now has more perspective, I guess.”

“...ahg I get what Riku means now, that's the worst,” he scrunched up his nose. “You’re Isa. Be Isa. Let's not get into the weirdness of Nobodies and Somebodies, it’ll make me start second guessing what to call Axel.”

“He likes it when you call him that.”

“Yeah and he likes it when you call him Lea so,” Roxas shrugged, clapping his hands together. “Ok. Questions, and just answer them if you feel like it or not.”

“Alright.”

“One,” Roxas hesitated before pointing at Isa’s face. “You have… ok they’re not as… bad looking as Axel’s but. You have those scars on your face.”

Isa blinked, reaching a hand up before dropping it before he could touch the x slashed between his eyes. “I do. Your point?”

“Wouldn’t from getting those you’d know how much it sucks getting them? Like, wouldn’t the memory have stopped you from stabbing Lea or something?”

“I suppose I’ve always felt disconnected from that moment, I didn’t think of it at all when I hurt Lea.”

“You feel disconnected to your face getting cut open?”

“Roxas,” he spread his hands out. “You know Nobody’s only keep marks from their death on their body after recompletion, correct? Our forms were too fluid to hold onto something like tattoos and scars.”

“Yeah…” Roxas didn’t have any scars himself on his body, but he had always figured that was more because he possessed a replica body then a typical human form.

“Then the only way for us to hold onto such marks,” he gestured to his face. “Is if they happened before we became a nobody.”

“...oh.”

“Yes,” Isa nodded. “I received these during my first time as a human. I’ll spare you the details, but as I lost my heart right after that, the emotions tied to that event are… well, shrouded are a good way to describe it. I will say its not something I particularly like thinking of.”

“Uh, ok. Gotcha. Sorry for asking.”

Isa shrugged. “I can’t say I like these scars. But I’ve gotten used to them. They no longer holds the same power they used to.”

Roxas stared at the scars, and wondered if they would’ve healed over better if Isa didn’t reopen them every time he berserked. He saw how they grew ragged and raw around the edges when he had fought the man, and undoubtedly more damage was done to the wounds by his own hand than anyone else's.

Although whoever had given him those scars (he had a pretty certain guess of who) he wished he had gotten a chance to give a swift kick towards.

He filed these thoughts away, ready to move on. “Ok uh question two, and last one cause I feel kind of bad asking the other one.”

“Sure.”

“What do you want yours and Axel’s relationship to be now?”

Roxas was glad that Isa had a heart now, it was so much easier to read his expressions then it had been in the Organization. While he kept his face relatively calm, he seemed incapable but to react to whatever his emotions threw at him, struggling to keep them completely under check. As it was, Isa looked surprised and a bit embarrassed, clearing his throat at the question.

“In what way do you mean our relationship?”

“Like do you want to be just friends, colleagues, uh acquaintances, or something else? Like I know you’re here and you guys are technically best friends too, but like,” Roxas leaned in, an evil glint in his eyes. “When I said Axel told us parts of your relationship, he did tell us like. The details of those parts. Like certain confessions on his part.”

“...ah.”

“Yeah. So to be extremely weird about this. What are your intentions towards my friend?”

There was no way Isa could hide his embarrassment now, glancing at the ocean as if it would be easier to just throw himself in. Roxas grinned, feeling good at making Isa squirm so much on something that wasn’t fraught with emotional trauma.

Probably.

“...so you know Lea… I never responded to him.”

“Yeah, so I’ve been kind of on the assumption you don’t like him back that way, but I’ve been having a disagreement with uh… Xion on that,” no need to spill the beans that everyone thought they liked each other thanks to Aqua’s matchmaking attempts. “And since I have you cornered, I figured I could finally clear up if I’m right or not,” Roxas shrugged. “And I am personally curious. It's kind of important to me if you and Axel do end up dating or something like that. Like, I gotta know you’re good to him.”

Isa leaned over to drop his head against the tree, a muffled groan being heard pouring out of him. He quickly snapped himself back up, taking a breath as he tried to compose himself. “Roxas. I am not currently looking to… change our relationship to the type that would match that… confession from our childhood. I’m a bit focussed on the simple possibility of rebuilding our friendship to even consider-my intentions are to be his friend, best friend, if he’ll let me.”

Roxas stared. He couldn’t say that he knew a lot about the heart and romance, that was always a thing his Somebody had more experience in, but he wasn’t dumb. Slowly his eyes widened till they were saucers as he gasped dramatically. “You liiiiiiike him.”

“...Roxas did you not-”

“Yeah I heard you, and you just did a big step around saying you like him,” Roxas threw himself backwards off the tree, making Isa nearly reach out and grab him to prevent him from breaking his neck, but the boy managed to twist himself to land on his feet. “Wow. I’m actually really surprised to be wrong.”

“Roxas. Roxas I don’t… you don’t… don’t you dare tell Lea that you think. That I might. Roxas.”

The blonde laughed, a childish grin on his face. “No way would I, I don’t even want you guys thinking about doing anything about that till you like. Ask for my and Xion’s permission for his hand,” Roxas moved around the tree, putting his hands on his hips in a mock impression of how Lea stood. “Hey Isa?”

“Yes?”

“We’re cool. I’m upset with you still but like. I don’t think that's too much of a surprise, and I think we’ll get better,” Roxas nodded. “Keep being Isa and keep being better.”

“...I’ll try.”

“Cool,” Roxas curled his hand into a fist and moved quickly, quicker then Isa was expecting as his fist collided with his stomach. “Ok I lied. Now we’re good.”

“Oh,” Isa blinked, wincing at the pain. “Great….”

“Wow you took that a lot better then Axel did.”

“He’s like a stick, that's why,” Isa shook his head before straightening up. “Roxas.”

“Yeah?”

“Please… I am serious about not telling Lea. I don’t want… I don’t want to burden him with unnecessary things. He doesn’t need to deal with me not being able to let go of things long over for himself.”

Roxas stared at him, slowly blinking before letting out a snort. “Sure, I won’t if you really think that way. I personally don’t want to talk about that anyways, that would be weird.”

“I...well, thank you still.”

“Sure thing.”

\--

Kairi cleared her throat before holding up her volleyball. “The majestic volleyball.”

About half the crowd (Lea, Naminé, Sora, Ventus, and Xion) clapped for her. The other half (Riku, Aqua, Terra, Roxas and Isa) stared in confusion, not really sure what the whole point of the dramatics were, but they weren’t going to interrupt.

“A simple beachside toy for hours of fun,” she moved it back and forth between her hands, ensuring that everyone had a good view of the spherical object. “But also one of great danger.”

“What's happening right now,” Terra whispered, looking towards Aqua for clarification on Kairi’s words.

“I… don’t know but… be supportive?”

“Shh,” Lea glared at them, putting a finger to his lips. “Kairi’s speaking.”

“In my many years of beach side living, I have first hand seen the destruction a volleyball can bring. Many unfortunate spikes sending it hurtling into someone’s face,” she whirled dramatically to face Riku. “Many broken noses.”

“I was seven!” Riku was blushing in embarrassment. “I didn’t mean to break your nose, I said sorry so many times!”

“We all make mistakes, but that does not mean we all forget them,” she turned away from him while he dropped his head in his hands with a groan. “So we will take these memories and use them to guide us into the future in our grand sport of life!”

Sora put up his hand. “In beach volleyball mainly though, right?”

“Yeah mainly that,” she grinned at him.

Aqua had suggested (after it seemed that the storm that had settled over some of her friends had finally passed) that they all engage in a game of volleyball together. They did bring a net to set up a court after all, it would be a good idea to make sure it didn’t go to waste. Although she wasn’t expecting quite the presentation to go along with it.

The competitive looks on everyone's faces she was expecting though. It seemed to be a trait of all keyblade wielders, having the will to beat each other in everything in their veins.

“So, ground rules,” Kairi held up a finger. “Avoid spiking the ball into each other's faces. Noses bleed a lot and kind of suck. Also depending on what kind of fairness rules we’re going by, you just give the other team an easy win through violence.”

“Lame,” Roxas sighed, head in his hands as he pouted at Kairi.

“Rule number two. Roxas has to be on my team now for that statement cause I don’t want to tempt fate and have him spiking the ball into my face.”

“That's fine, I was thinking of doing it to Riku anyways.”

“I’m fine with that. I will think of it as you getting revenge on my behalf.”

“If I didn’t live in daily fear of Roxas attempting to suplex me for my mistakes, I’d be more worried,” Riku made a face. “Kairi though please don’t plot my end with him.”

“No. We’re an untested team up, and I think we have the potential to be completely unstoppable,” she nodded. “It's our destiny.”

“I can dig it,” Roxas held up his hand and Kairi gave him a gleeful hi-five.

“Rule number three,” she put a hand to her chin, trying to get back on track. “No magic. Cause honestly we’d probably break the volleyball in one round if we did and we don’t have a replacement.”

“Oh good,” Naminé put her hands together. “That means I can play too then!”

“We weren’t going to exclude you for something like that, Naminé,” Aqua assured her with a small smile.

“Yeah, otherwise we’d have to kick this one out too,” Lea jerked his thumb at Isa who pulled a frown at him.

“Did you forget I do know how to use magic, or are you purposely being dense.”

“You don’t know fire magic, so my point still stands.”

Isa rolled his eyes, turning to Naminé with a look that clearly said ‘do you see what I have to deal with’ while she giggled at the two of them.

“I think those are the only really important things,” Kairi looked at Aqua. “Unless you can think of anything else?”

“Besides normal volleyball rules? No,” she pushed into a standing position, smiling. “I guess what's left is to choose teams. Who wants to be team captains?”

“Oh! Me, me me me!” Sora held up his hand, stretching it up as high as he could. “I want to be a captain choose me!”

“Sure,” Aqua nodded at him with a smile and he jumped up, fist bumping into the air. “Anyone else?”

“I’ll captain other team,” Roxas pushed himself up to stand in front of everyone

“Ok. So Sora and Roxas will be our captains. Any objections?”

When no one else wanted to be captain, Aqua had both Sora and Roxas do rock, paper, scissors to see who would choose first. Sora groaned dramatically as Roxas won, his other half smirking as he turned to the crowd.

“I choose Kairi first since we’re bonded in volleyball revenge to Riku.”

“Yes!” She jumped up, running over and giving him another high five while Sora pouted at the two of them.

“Aw Kairi, you don’t want to be on my team?”

“Maybe next time Sora. This is important.”

“Fine,” he sniffed. “Then Riku, you’re with me, because I’m nice. And you’re really tall so we’ll definitely win.”

“Wow thanks,” Riku walked over, looking at Kairi. “You know you’ll feel bad if you end up breaking my nose.”

“That's a future problem.”

“Next Xion, cause duh,” Roxas nodded at his best friend as she came up eagerly.

“Well you know what! I’m taking Axel since you took one of my best friends! And he’s also tall!”

“Are you hoping if you just take all the tall people you’ll get some kind of advantage?” Lea strolled over to Sora’s side, sticking out his tongue as Roxas, Xion, and Kairi all made faces at him.

“Yeah! You’re so tall you’ll probably block the ball from hitting the ground.”

“Its an untested strategy, but it has potential,” Riku joked.

“That actually is a good point though,” Roxas squinted at everyone remaining, looking towards those taller in the group. “Oh! Isa, just cause I know he won’t let Axel beat him.”

“Hey!”

Isa actually looked quite touched that Roxas chose him at all, and he gave the boy a wide, honest smile. “I’ll do my best to ensure victory then.”

“It is kind of intimidating that I’m going up against all of my best friends,” Lea mumbled.

“Well, I’m choosing Naminé next!” Sora pointed at her as she blinked in surprise.

“Really? You want me on your team?”

“Yeah, I remember when we had our race, you’re a sneaky winner! I want that kind of power on my side!”

Naminé beamed at him, hurrying over with a bounce in her step, Riku smiling at her excitement. Lea gave her hair a ruffle with a smile, knowing how much it meant to her to be chosen at all. They really needed to work at making sure she knew how all of them cared about her and wanted her around.

Roxas looked at the remaining three and paused, rocking back on the heels of his feet. “Hey wait I just realized, our teams aren’t going to be even. Isn’t that kind of unfair.”

“We can beat you with one less player!”

“Yeah, no, it would be even easier than it already is.”

“Hey!”

“Oh I didn’t even think about the fact we have odd numbers,” Aqua frowned, putting a hand to her chin as she puzzled out the issue. “Well I can-”

“I’ll sit out,” Terra interrupted, smiling easily as she blinked in surprise. “I can be the referee, make calls on anything you guys can’t agree on.”

“Wait, don’t you want to play,” Aqua leaned forward, putting a hand on his arm. “I could do that instead, you don’t have to sit out Terra.”

“Nah, you guys, play, I’m cool,” he patted her hand, smiling at her. “You should get a chance to have fun.”

Lea leaned into Riku, whispering. “So… they’re not dating?”

“Wh-why are you asking me?”

“I dunno, you’re the closest person, their relationship still confuses me, and obviously it freaks you out.”

“...this kind of thing is why it's a mistake to have you on our team.”

“Oh, totally.”

“Well, if you’re ok with it,” Roxas was a bit uncertain before pointing at Ventus. “Ven, we can probably due something with confusing people by seeing double of us.”

“Heck yeah,” he walked over to Roxas, grinning. “I guess we got team Heart Hotel here. And uh Isa.”

“He’s an honorary member for now.”

Isa gave the kids a thumbs up while they laughed.

“Well we get Aqua, and she’s super powerful,” Sora jumped up and down, grinning as she made her way over to him, glancing back at Terra as he waved her on. “So we’re going to take you down!”

“You wish!”

They all broke off into their sides of the hastily put together volleyball net, Roxas gathering his team to quietly plan their strategy, while Sora gave his an encouraging pep talk. Terra pulled over a beach chair, sitting down so he could see everything easily before putting his hands to the side of his face. “Ready to start?”

“Yeah!”

He tossed the ball in for them to begin, smiling. He didn’t remember the last time he had played volleyball, but he was pretty sure the games only went on for a short time anyways.

...right?

\--

“So the score is,” Terra had grabbed a notepad at some point during the game to help keep track (“Why did we bring this with us to the beach?” “In case we needed to take notes.” “That's not a good answer Aqua.”) of all the points they were racking up. “Twenty two to… well twenty two. It's even.”

Because even without magic, the match had become a chaotic battlefield, with both sides putting all their might into beating the other.  They were all panting, covered in sweat and sand, waiting for Terra to toss back in the ball for another round as he considered what he had written down

“Is there like. A rule in volleyball that you only go up to a set number of points? Should we have technically ended this when the first team got five points?”

“Nah,” Lea wiped sweat off his forehead, grinning despite the exhaustion of running around and trying not to stumble over one of his smaller team mates. “This is more fun, shows who's really the ultimate volleyball master.”

“It's not going to be you!” Kairi yelled over to him, trying to push her bangs back so they would stop blocking her view. “We’re going to be the volleyball masters over here!”

“We have all the keyblade masters over here though, no way we can lose!” Ventus shot back.

“I don’t remember ever hearing that being a keyblade master translated into also being a volleyball master,” Isa remarked casually to Xion, earning a giggle from the girl.

“I think,” Terra scratched his chin, squinting at them before they could get into a longer argument. “Next point should be game, or else this will go on till we’re all dead.”

“Aw boo,” Roxas folded his arms.

“This game has been going on for um. Longer than two hours. It has to end Roxas. It has too.”

“The great evil must be destroyed,” Xion giggled as Roxas pouted at her. “The great volleyball evil.”

“Whoever gets next point should get bragging rights,” Lea put his hand up with a grin, knowing that no one in this group would be able to handle not being able to rub it in the others face their win. “I’m going to look forward to talking about our win all week long.”

“Oh you’re so going down!” Roxas pointed at him before pointing at the tallest member of his team. “Isa! We have to crush him.”

“Understood.”

“You haven’t managed to all game! What do you think will change it now! I have Aqua to protect me from anything you throw at me,” he grinned, tugging the woman over as a shield while she gave him an unimpressed look.

“You know I can’t really protect you considering you’re probably a foot taller than me.”

“Ok I’m not that tall. And you can literally jump higher than my head.”

“Let's just get to the next round to put an end to this,” Terra pushed himself up, getting ready to toss the ball back in. “Everyone ready?”

They cried out their confirmation, Lea letting go of Aqua so she could return to her spot, and Terra tossed the ball back in. He quickly leaned away as they began attacking the poor, beaten up volleyball, staying back from the spray of sand as they worked to prove themselves the ultimate winner.

Terra wondered what other people thought, on the occasion they all played around in public. Even without magic it was quite a sight, and he was pretty sure that they should’ve been called out on messing with the order of worlds just by existing.

Oh well. As long as they were having fun.

“I got it!” Naminé managed to hit back up a particularly hard spike from Kairi, giving a pleased smile at her success.

“C’mon,” Roxas yelled, hitting it back, hissing as Riku smirked at him as he managed to stop his attempt. “C’mon!”

“You’ll never beat Team Masters and Naminé, Axel and Me,” Sora crowed triumphantly, panting a bit. “Ok it's hard to come up with names in the middle of a fight.”

“Don’t think just play,” Axel slid to his knees to hit up what almost looked like a point, earning another groan from Roxas. “Ahg sand burn.”

“I’m surprised you can even feel the heat of the sand,” Isa remarked, aiming the spike back to his best friend, but luckily for him Aqua saved it. “You keep things hotter than that.”

“I ah well,” Lea quickly pulled himself to his feet, ignoring the smirks tossed at him by Roxas and Xion from the other side. “Don’t distract me!”

“Never, this is part of our plan to beat you!”

“You should focus less on distracting Lea,” Aqua set Naminé up for a perfect spike, grinning. “And more on us!”

“Nope!” Roxas grinned as he leapt into the air, slapping the volleyball as it made it back to his side with as much strength as he could, sending it straight… towards Lea’s face. His eyes widened in surprise as the man suddenly reeled back, hand covering his face as the ball bounced sadly to the ground. They all stood frozen for a second, unsure what to do.

Lea carefully pulled his hand away from his face, squinting at the blood on his hand that had dripped out of his nose. “So… does this mean we get an automatic win?”

“Axel!”

“Lea!”

Aqua quickly pulled him down to her height, holding his head in her hands as she hissed at the damage, while the rest crowded in to check on him. Roxas and Xion shoved people aside to grab onto their best friend, Roxas looking particularly guilty.

“I’m so sorry Axel, I know I was joking about it before but I didn’t actually want to break your nose!”

“Hey, I’m cool, takes more than this to keep me down. Besides, I’m pretty sure you just handed me the win,” he tried to reassure the kids, but Aqua kept tugging his head back.

“Please stop moving. I don’t want to just cast cure if your nose needs to be reset first.”

“I should be fine, I’ve had a ton of broken noses as a kid,” he tried to wave her off, struggling to get anywhere with both her, Roxas and Xion holding onto him. “Just get me an ice cream for the swelling I’ll-

Isa had quietly been approaching from behind, and he finally made his strike. Lea found himself suddenly in a headlock from his much stronger friend, holding him down so Aqua could easily reach his face. “I got him, fix his nose before he starts flailing.”

“What! Isa-”

“Sorry!” Aqua pinched his nose and everyone winced at the gentle snapping nose they heard as she reset it. Lea gritted his teeth, and the kids stared at him in awe as some very muffled curses came from his mouth for a few seconds. Isa gently patted his head as he got all of the pain out of his system. 

“Ooh,” Aqua looked back at Terra. “Could you bring a water bottle, just to wash off his face?”

“I’ll also get a towel,” Terra ran back to their bags.

“I hate this, I was fine and then you made it worse,” Lea mumbled. “Gah my nose…”

“I did not make it worse, I’ve reset both Ven and Terra’s nose thousands of times, I know what I’m doing. I can do it myself if necessary as well,” Aqua rolled her eyes at his griping, knowing it just came from the embarrassment and pain of the injury.

“Ignore him, he’s just a big cry baby,” Isa chuckled before giving a small oof as Lea’s arm collided with his stomach.

“You’re a traitor.”

“A traitor wouldn’t use cure on you without an ether nearby,” Isa reached around to give a gentle tap to Lea’s nose, releasing him from the headlock as the green magic swirled over his friends face. “There. All better.”

“You  _ can _ use magic,” Sora gasped while Isa made a face at him.

“You’ve fought me countless times, Sora. Did you really think half of what I did wasn’t magic?”

“I mean, it's not magic I can use, so I just figured you were kind of using uh. Something that looked like magic but wasn’t?”

Isa rolled his eyes. “I didn’t go straight into that, I do know the basics.”

“Just not fire magic,” Lea touched his nose gently, feeling the tenderness after the healing magic set in. Cure was good really for short term relief, almost a glorified bandage in his opinion. It at least stopped the bleeding for now. “You never got fire magic.”

“Why would I need fire magic when I have you as my personal arsonist.”

“Oh, haha,” he lightened up at Terra bringing a water bottle, taking it from the man and dumping it over his head, wiping away the streaks of blood. “There, all better! How do I look?” he grinned at Roxas and Xion, the two rolling their eyes but giving him relieved smiles that he wasn’t hurt anymore.

“Like a loser,” Roxas punched his arm gently. “Sorry for hitting it in your face.”

“Eh, water under the bridge. And I can’t look like a loser, you definitely gave us the point with that shot,” he looked at Terra eagerly while the man stared.

“...uh.”

“Terra, who got the point!”

“Uh,” he held up his hands, making a face. “Maybe you guys should just do another round where no one gets hurt and ignore this one.”

“No you have to choose! This is why you’re referee!”

“If I choose I’m going to have 5 people very upset with me!”

“Choose Terra!”

He began booking it across the beach while a gaggle of children (and Lea) all chased him down, yelling at him to declare the who won while those who stayed behind laughed.

“So,” Aqua looked at Isa curiously, making the man give her his full attention. “I hate to be another person whose surprised you know magic, but…”

He gave a dramatic sigh that she laughed at, before giving her a wry smile. “I certainly don’t use it as much as you keyblade wielders do, but yes, I think I have a healthy understanding of the craft.”

“I can see that. Even a basic cure is a difficult spell to cast,” she smiled at him. “Do you need an ether? We did bring I think one or two for emergencies.”

He waved her off. “No, I’ll be fine in a few minutes. I can handle a quick spell for Lea without a problem.”

“For Lea hm,” she tilted her head, a small smile on her face. “Is that why you learned magic in the first place?”

He blinked before clearing his throat, crossing his arms in defense of...something. Why did he have to be defensive right now? “Yes well. I picked up magic when I was a teenager since he was getting in trouble all the time, getting hurt and crying about it, that sort of thing. I figured out a charm that is supposed to keep you from crying too, although obviously I no longer try casting it for him. I… I don’t know if it actually worked or if it was just a placebo effect of me telling him it did.”

“That's sweet of you, Isa, whether it worked or not,” her smile widened, trying to think of him as a young child studying magic just to keep his friend from crying. It was an adorable image. “If you wouldn’t mind, I’d love in the future to talk to you about charms. Not many people learn that kind of magic.”

“I ... sure. That sounds nice.”

\--

“Have they finally stopped searching from me?” Terra crouched down next to Aqua where she was watching the waves, one eye on where the rest of their group was resting in the light of the sunset.

“They gave up a while ago. Where did you hide by the way, Sora was very impressed at how even he couldn’t find you.”

“Whenever they came close to my hiding spot, I would move to a place they already checked out. It was a stressful hour,” he sat down next to her with a sigh. “So, who did they decide won in the end?”

“Oh that's still on you. Just because you aren’t being hunted down anymore doesn’t mean they still aren’t holding you to that choice,” she laughed as he pouted at her.

“Oh great…”

They watched the waves quietly till Ventus joined them, handing them the last slices of watermelon for the day. Aqua let her eyes wander on the rest of her friends, smiling as they all seemed happily exhausted from the day. Sora, Riku and Kairi were laying together on the beach, one large nap pile while Naminé sat near, carefully sketching out the view with a small smile on her face. Roxas, Xion, Lea and Isa were seated back at the paopu tree, chatting and laughing about something Lea had said as Xion fixed Isa’s braid again.

Everyone was happy and content. She could look forward to more days like this.

“I’m tired,” Ven announced, shifting himself so he could use Aqua’s lap as a pillow, her hand resting gently in his hair. “Wake me up when we’re getting ready to leave. Or don’t, I’m ok with being carried home.”

“Ok,” she smiled down at the boy before leaning her head against Terra’s shoulder, sighing in contentment of having her two best friends so near. He was still for a while, the seconds dragging on to the point that she was almost going to ask if everything was alright, before he leaned his head against hers, shifting his hand to hold onto hers. She smiled at the touch, closing her eyes.

“Terra?”

“Yeah?”

“I had a lot of fun today.”

“Me too. Even with the running for my life.”

She laughed, shifting to lean more comfortably against him. “I forgot how nice it is, resting like this. Thank you for reminding me.”

“We’ll do it again, sometime in the future. More chances for me to remind you.”

“I’d like that. A lot.”

He squeezed her hand gently, watching the waves as she drifted into a doze against him. If he had to carry both of his friends home, he wouldn’t mind. He was always happy to take care of them.

\--

“Ok, there,” Xion leaned back from fixing Isa’s hair, smiling happily at how it looked neat and pretty again. “I did a fishtail braid this time, I think it looks even better than the other one I did.”

“Thank you Xion, for fixing my braid for me,” Isa gave her a gentle smile as he moved from where he had been crouching down in front of her, sitting back down next to Lea. “I’m sorry for messing it up earlier.”

“I think the volleyball match did most of that, its ok,” she shrugged. “I don’t care that much. It just means I get to do it again!”

“Since you’re done with being a hair salonist for now though,” Lea held out an ice cream he had waiting for her. “For you.”

“Thanks Axel!”

“And for you,” he handed another to Isa.

“Thank you.”

They all chowed down on their ice cream, watching the sunset. It wasn’t as good as the one in Twilight Town, but it was still nice.

“I’m happy we finally made it to the beach, but we should do it on our own sometime,” Roxas took a bite of his ice cream, munching on the bite till it melted away. “Just the four of us, you know?”

Isa looked over at the boy in surprise, blinking at the implication that he was included, before realizing Lea was staring at him with a smirk. He turned away, the only thing giving away his feelings was his slightly red ears.

He had far too many kind people in his life now, it was overwhelming.

And a little bit nice as well.

“I’d like that. We can gather a bunch of seashells, maybe fill a whole bottle with them!” Xion laughed, leaning back and staring up at the sky here. “I’d love another day here.”

“Then we’ll do that. When we have another day off, we’ll all go to the beach, guaranteed,” Lea waved his ice cream stick with a smile. “Nothing to get in the way of us coming back here this time.”

“Yeah!” Xion threw her arms in the sky, smiling. “I can’t wait.”

“Me too!” Roxas laughed. “We should go next week!”

“Well we can’t go that soon, Aqua would hunt us down if we left the mansion just to play all the time!”

“She doesn’t scare me.”

“Yeah we can take her!”

They all laughed, shoving and messing around and trying to prove through words alone how much braver they were compared to each other.

“We can play volleyball again too!”

“Next time though, lets not give Axel the win by breaking his nose.”

“Yeah please don’t.”

“We’ll beat him easy!”

“What-Hey just you see, I’ll beat you next time! That's a promise!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As someone who was very bad at P.E. in high school, I don't know how volleyball is actually supposed to be played. In fact I don't know how most games are played, but thats ok because this is a fantasy land and I don't care.
> 
> I didn't expect Roxas' and Isa's talk to end up being so long and filled with as much stuff as it ended up being but hey. Isa wants to prove to the kids that he's trying, Roxas wants clarification, its all good. I never wanted everyone to be at like, odds for several chapters, just needing to talk things out and understand that hey, things are complicated, but we're all getting better together.
> 
> Also, happy Isa month.


	12. Chapter 12

Terra let out a slow breath, hand held to his chin as he considered the board that held the train schedules for Central Station. It was what he expected when stepping into the building, with regular intervals of trains coming and going, notes if a train was delayed or cancelled, nothing particularly alarming. Anything unusual at all wouldn’t be found upon the boards surface, as it helped guide commuters to the right platform in the simplest way possible.

So he had to wonder exactly, how did the magical train that took them to Master Yen Sid’s tower manage to slip in without interrupting any of the very carefully planned out schedule before him.

He shook his head, sitting down on a bench and crossing his arms as he considered the mystery. Probably the same kind of magic that let the tower move around as it pleased was at work here. If it needed to be somewhere at a certain time, it would be, and if it needed to move, it would disappear, which honestly was an overly simple way of describing it but not in a bad way. It was some rather intricate magic, something that even he was interested in learning more about.

Although, he figured it was magic that was tied specifically to the Master’s use only. He came off as a man who worked hard to develop his own strain of magic, separate from what was usually practiced by keyblade wielders, something that only came from years of dedication.

His magic almost reminded him of the unique kind of magic at work with the Land of Departure, how it was tied under one person's control. He supposed that made sense, Master Yen Sid did once practice alongside Eraqus before retirement, he was probably familiar with the lands himself. It wasn’t too odd to think that his own home ended up using its own form of the odd magical architecture.

Maybe he could ask for advice with the Land of Departure on Aqua’s behalf.

He quickly shifted that thought away, to be saved for another time. While it was a good idea, he had to deal with his own problems first. First, show Aqua that he was working out his own issues, which may inspire her to allow herself space to do the same. After all that he could then start bugging the all powerful magician on magical architecture. That was the current plan, and he was sticking with it.

That is, if Riku showed up to go with him to Master Yen Sid’s tower already. The boy said he needed to grab something from the bed and breakfast first before heading over, but it seemed like he had gotten held up by something. Terra sighed, running a hand through his hair, leaning his head back against the bench. Nothing to do but stare at the ceiling, think about magical architecture, and wait…

“Arrived too early for your train?”

He blinked, lifting his head back up and looking at the young woman smiling down at him. He hadn’t even noticed her stopping next to him and he adjusted so he was sitting straight up, giving a soft laugh to her question. “Something like that. I’m waiting for a friend, once he gets here, we’re off.”

“That's so rude of him to make you wait on your own,” she gasped dramatically, putting a hand to her cheek. “I know how boring it can be, waiting on your own here. I can’t count how many times I missed my train and was just stuck sitting around till the next one, it's the worst.”

“Sounds like it. Usually I,” he paused before he could mention his keyblade glider, hearing the echo of Donald screeching ‘ORDER’ in his ear. It was an odd sensation, as he hadn’t even spent much time around the duck in the first place. “Uh, just walk to wherever I need to go, I don’t take the train often.”

“That explains why I haven’t seen you around before,” she moved to sit down next to him on the bench, flicking her hair over her shoulder with a smile. “I’m Gemma.”

“Terra,” he smiled back at her, shifting to face her since it seemed like she was intent on keeping the conversation with him. “It's nice to meet you Gemma.”

“Terra huh,” she tilted her head, eyeing him curiously. “You know, I actually don’t know anyone who doesn’t use the trains pretty consistently. Are you new in town or something?”

“Something like that. I’m just helping some friends out for a bit really with a new place.”

“Oh that's so nice of you! You’re so nice Terra.”

He nodded. He did try to be nice. “Well, they’re pretty much family. It's the least I can do.”

“I hope they aren’t working you too hard as you help them out though, you should take a break now and again.”

“Oh I do, we all went to the beach actually just recently. And hey, I can handle a bit of work, no problem!”

“You certainly look like you can,” she leaned into him and he blinked at her.

He did not know what was going on.

“I… thank you,” spotting a familiar shock of silver hair move into view behind her head he smiled in relief, slowly getting up and gaining back his personal space. “That's my friend over there, I should go get him in case he misses me. Thank you for the talk, it helped pass the time.”

“Of course,” she watched him stand up before going through her bag, taking out a piece of paper and writing something down, holding it out to him with a pretty smile. “Here. If you ever want to talk, I’m happy to help you pass the time again...”

He took it with a blink. He still didn’t know what was going on. “Thank you. It was nice meeting you Gemma.”

“Nice to meet you too, Terra,” she watched him go with a smile that made him want to pick up his pace.

Reaching Riku, he saw the boy was looking at him with a raised eyebrow and a smile. “Meeting the locals?”

“She was nice enough to keep me company while I was waiting for you,” he crossed his arms. “What took you so long?”

“Sora decided my shirt needed to be covered in paint, so I had to change. I kind of don’t want to show up to Master Yen Sid a mess,” he gave a sheepish grin while the man laughed.

With both of them together finally, the magical train seemed to decide now was a perfect time to show up, rolling up in all of its purple glory. They ignored the confused glances of commuters as they climbed on, knowing it wouldn’t help if they tried to make up a plausibly mundane reason for its appearance. Terra waved back to (now a much more confused and intrigued) Gemma as he got on, the door sliding behind him as he made his way to a seat with a sigh.

The piece of paper she had handed him was still clutched in his hand and he finally unfolded it, looking at what was written with a tilt of his head.

Her name and a string of numbers. And… “X O X O… smiley face?”

“Oh wow, she gave you her number?”

He jumped at Riku looking over his shoulder, not expecting him to also be looking curiously at it. “I guess? I don’t know what to do with this.”

“It's for your phone. You put that number and you can call or text her if that's her cell number. I guess you never did that before since we just gave you a gummi phone with all our numbers already in it.”

“I’m still impressed that technology like this can be made in only a decade,” he chuckled, then frowned as he thought further along. “But I thought our gummi phones only work with one another, I wouldn't actually be able to use this number. Would I?”

“You can actually. King Mic-uh, Mickey explained it to me. The gummi phone is unique as its able to communicate across worlds thanks to the gummi technology inside of it. But it's also compatible with regular cell phones from different worlds as well, although you’ll find once you’re off Twilight Town that your connection to anyone without a gummi phone is spotty at best. So you can contact anyone on the same world as you, you just can’t talk to them if you’re on another world and they don’t also have the gummi tech.”

“Huh,” he thought about it with a nod. “So we basically have the more powerful device, at least compared to people with just normal phones.”

“Basically. We had to give one to Hayner, Pence and Olette as well when they were helping out here during our adventures. Although now all they do with it is fill up Kingstagram with skateboarding pictures…”

He let out a snort, shaking his head as he folded up the paper in his hand. “Technology really is moving forward.”

“Yeah. So…”

He looked at Riku with a raised eyebrow. “So?”

“Are you going to call her?”

He blinked at him before looking at the paper and shrugging. “Probably not honestly. I mean, I like making new friends, but between everything right now, I think I’ll skip on it. If I see her around town maybe I’ll change my mind but hey, you don’t make lasting friendships with everyone.”

Riku put his fist to his chin, propping it up as he stared at the man. “I don’t think she wanted to be friends Terra.”

“...if she didn’t then I’m very confused why she would go out of her way to talk to me and-”

“I’m pretty sure she was flirting with you. And I think she’s expecting that you call her for a date.”

Terra shut his mouth with an audible click, staring at the boy before staring at the paper again. “... _ oh.” _

“Yeah,” the boy chuckled. “So, still not going to call her?”

“I-no. I wish I would realize when these things happened,” he groaned, slowly dropping his head in his hands.

“You don’t recognize when people are trying to ask you out?”

“I don’t realize when people are flirting with me generally,” Terra sighed, digging the heels of his palms into his eye sockets. “I dunno I’ve never been able to pick up on it, I just think they’re being nice.”

“Wow,” Riku blinked before grinning. “You’ve must’ve had a lot of misunderstandings over the years.”

“It's a… rare issue but definitely an issue,” he muttered before getting up and throwing away the paper.

“Oh! You’re still not going to call her?”

“I’m not interested in asking her out, and I don’t really want to mislead her into thinking I do,” he shrugged. “If she really wants to go on a date, she can ask me out first.”

“Would you say yes?”

Terra cringed. “Probably not. Like I said, I’m not interested. Can we stop talking about this already?”

“Sure, sure,” Riku smirked, leaning back. “Although we do have at least an hour trip to Master Yen Sid’s without anything to talk about so…”

“Could talk about your dating life.”

“You know what, it's totally fine just sitting in silence.”

“Two way street Riku. Two way street.”

\--

“Basically, we wedged it.”

Aqua gave Lea a tight smile as she looked at the rather large cabinet that was currently firmly stuck inside the door frame, so greatly wedged that no one even had to hold onto it to keep it from crashing to the ground. She could only see the tall redhead on the other side of the cabinet, looking rather sheepish at being responsible for the current affair. But she knew Ventus was also hiding behind the piece of furniture, probably with a similar look on his face.

“Why didn’t you stop once it became obvious you couldn’t actually fit it through?”

“Well, obviously I didn’t think that far, Aqua.”

“Obviously,” she stood up on her tiptoes, trying to see around the obstruction. “Ven? Why didn’t you think that far?”

“I forget all critical thinking skills when hanging out with Lea,” he sounded very serious, as if this was a situation that he worried over daily. “Its a problem.”

“I would object to this, but knowing myself that makes sense,” the redhead nodded.

“Ok, well,” she sighed, putting hands on her hips. “I can’t believe it, but I’m worried about leaving the two of you unsupervised ever again. And one of you is an adult.”

“Its a fair worry,” Lea smirked. “Remember when we set the bushes on fire.”

“I was trying not to.”

Ventus’ hand peaked up into view as if hoping the teacher would call on him. “And we aren’t actually unsupervised here.”

“What? Who else is in there?”

“Me,” Isa’s voice was fainter, obviously deeper in the room staying away from the chaos, and she tilted her head.

“Why didn’t you stop them, Isa?”

“I’ve known Lea my entire life. It's easier to just let it happen.”

Aqua was beginning to realize that Isa’s cool and calm demeanor was hiding a troublesome streak as deep as Lea’s.

“Ok well, you basically let them trap you in there.” 

“Easier doesn’t mean better.”

She crouched down, looking at the space under the stuck cabinet, considering its size. “Ven, you can probably scoot underneath here and escape.”

“What if it falls on me and I die?”

“It won’t. Lea and I will hold onto it just in case.”

“And what's your plan for those of us who grew out of our baby genes years ago,” she couldn’t see it, but she could hear the tell tale thump of Ventus getting revenge on Lea. “OW. You kids are going to really hurt me one day.”

“Yeah right.”

“The plan is,” she grabbed onto one side of the cabinet while Lea grabbed the other, letting Ventus squirm to freedom over to her. “Ven and I will try to pull it while you push over there. Maybe with the extra leverage it will actually move. Isa can you also help Lea push?”

He let out a long, drawn out sigh that made Ventus laugh and her snort as he finally walked over into sight, eyeing his friend. “This is your fault.”

“Oh I’m sorry, are you here just to judge me and not help out at all? Is that what this is?” Lea rolled his eyes at him.

“I’m always here to judge you.”

“What a friend you are.”

Ventus finally popped up on the other side, standing up with a grin. “Ok! I’m ready to try it!”

“Me too. Ready guys?”

The two men nodded, all of them getting in position to begin working the cabinet free of the door. On her signal they began pushing from their side while Ven and Aqua pulled on theirs, trying to wiggle it back and forth so it would slip free. When it finally scooted an inch through there was a general noise of excitement from everyone that they were actually getting somewhere and wouldn’t have to break something to release those trapped inside. But after a few more forced inches of movement, they realized that there was another issue with Aqua’s plan.

“Its trying to pull the door along with it,” Isa muttered, shifting to the side to observe the phenomenon. One of the legs was hooked against the door in just the perfect way that, as it was pulled further out, it dragged the door with it. The space which Lea and Isa could push together was starting to get smaller. “At some point I think you will just have to yank it through while we move out of the way.”

“I’m seriously impressed with how not only did you get this cabinet wedged, but also in a way that its determined to take the door with it,” Aqua muttered. 

“Ven and I are skilled like that.”

“Oh no, I’m going to always be tied to your bad decisions from now on, aren’t I,” the younger boy bemoaned.

“Yup. Better for me, less blame I have to take on.”

“Usually it's me taking the blame as well, this is actually a nice change for once,” Isa mused.

She shook her head at the boys. “Ok, you two push it as far as you can before you run out of space, and then we’ll yank it back the rest of the way.”

“Alright. Try not to drop it on your toes,” Lea shifted to give Isa more space. “Ready?”

“Ready!”

They gave it a final push and pull, and the cabinet finally gave way to freedom, Aqua and Ven jumping back while Isa and Lea released their hold. The unheld half of the cabinet crashed into the ground while the door slammed behind it.. Quickly checking to see if anything was broken Aqua smiled in relief that nothing seemed to be out of place. They could probably find a good place for the cabinet, it actually looked rather nice when it wasn’t stuck in a doorway.

“There we go, it's all moved out. You won’t have to worry about being trapped behind this for the rest of your life.”

“Oh that's good to hear,” Lea called through the door. “I was actually really worried about that.”

“Mhmm. If there’s any more small doors like this we have to take it through, we should take the door off first, which will help with any other large pieces,” she considered their options, watching Ventus poke idly around the cabinet before crouching down to pick something up that must’ve fallen in the chaos.

“Hey guys?”

“Yeah Lea?” She looked at Ventus’s hands, taking a heartbeat to recognize what he was holding curiously.

“Why can’t we open the door?”

“Uh…” she looked back at the door and then to Ven’s hands, which were currently cradling the doorknob that had at some point, been ripped off the door in their struggles. “Oh no.”

\--

Terra jiggled his leg restlessly as he looked out the window, considering the empty space the train sped through. It was a different sensation from using keyblade gliders and gummiships; it felt like they were going over a railroad track, despite there being obviously no real physical structure to move over. But despite his honest curiosity at how the train moved between Twilight Town and the Mysterious Tower, his worries had begun to encroach upon him the further along they went.

He had done as he promised Aqua he would, letting Riku know that he would go to see the Master as soon as possible and if the boy would come with him. Riku agreed, seeming to get that Terra needed moral support to actually commit to making the journey to see the Master. And now they were on their way and they would discuss everything in the letter he had written those several, long weeks ago, and it would be fine. It wasn’t like he even had to do anything, he could turn down whatever offer was sent his way.

But still.

He had many memories of Master’s talking about the darkness inside of him and their suggestions on how to handle it, and none were memories he wanted to relive again.

He didn’t even know what Yen Sid would suggest, but he didn’t have high hopes for whatever his idea was. While he was certainly a Master that Terra respected, his lack of familiarity with the older man made him feel uncertain about his insights into his character. He honestly expected he’d just leave this meeting doing what he was already doing now; be more cautious about trusting people he didn’t know, letting Aqua make the important decisions, and avoiding all situations that would make him use his darker powers.

He was handling it.

Probably.

It was going to be a great blow to his ego whatever judgements that were soon going to be tossed his way though.

“Terra?”

“Hm?” He turned to look at Riku sitting across from him. The boy was putting away his phone, and he wondered if they finally hit that point of where being too close to the Mysterious Tower messed with its functionality. “Whats up?”

“You ok? You’ve been kind of quiet for a while.”

“Well you were texting.”

“Only because you were quiet.”

He gave the boy a smile at his perceptiveness before shrugging. “Just thinking about what Master Yen Sid wants to talk about today. Do you know-”

“No. I mean,” Riku shrugged back at him, pulling a face. “I know that he wants to talk to you about some of the stuff you went through, but he didn’t share all of what he wanted to go over with you. I guess he wanted to keep the majority of it private till you decided you wanted to go through with it or not.”

“That's nice of him,” he took a deep breath. “Master Yen Sid must trust you a lot Riku. I could tell even from the little bit he mentioned of you in his letter.”

“Ah I mean,” the boy coughed, flustered at the sudden shift in attention. “Just trying to do the right thing. I don’t know if he trusts me any more than he trusts the rest of us, I think its equal really.”

“He made you a Master didn’t he?”

“Well, yeah.”

Terra smile grew. “Then he trusts you a lot, believe me.”

“...he also made Mickey a Master.”

“Yeah well,” he waved a hand. “He trusts both of you a lot. In different ways. You should feel proud, Riku.”

The more flustered Riku grew, the easier it was to see the blush on his pale skin as he clenched his fists. “I… thanks Terra. That means a lot. Especially coming from you.”

“Especially from me?”

“I mean, you got me started on this path. I’m glad you think I… well you know.”

Terra thought back to the small child he had handed his keyblade to all those years ago, smiling. He knew then that the light inside of Riku was something special, and he didn’t regret that choice. It was probably one of the best decisions he made on his adventures.

Although, even with that strong light… Riku had dealt with his own darkness.

He felt himself go somber again before clearing his throat. “Riku?”

“Yeah?”

“I… never mind. How much longer till the Tower?”

Frowning at Terra, Riku looked out the window. “Uh… not much longer I think? I can see the Tower in the distance, it's always hard to tell how long these trips will take though.”

Terra looked out the window with a nod, staring at the slowly encroaching tower.

What would he gain from this trip?

\--

“We literally have three keyblade wielders standing right here. Three keyblades that can unlock pathways between worlds, can cast magic, literally helped stopped the end of our universe as we knew it,” Isa took a breath. “And yet you are stopped by one door missing a handle.”

“It,” Aqua was struggling not to laugh at the absolute ridiculous situation they were in. “It doesn’t have a keyhole.”

“You’re telling me that it's that specific? It can’t just work without one? I thought these things just worked as you needed them if your will is strong enough.”

“Man I wish,” Ventus sighed. “It would be so much easier then.”

“There’s rules on how it works,” Aqua put her hands together. “We can’t just twist it to our specific needs in the moment. This is a door with no keyhole. So we can’t just. Open it.”

“Does that mean we can’t open those automatic sliding door things if they’re locked,” Lea mused.

“Those do have keyholes, Lea,” Isa remarked.

“What really? I never noticed.”

“Well you would have to actually look close to notice it I suppose.”

“So like, how do we get you guys out,” Ventus looked at Aqua as she held a hand over her mouth, considering. “Can we take it off the hinges or something?”

“How long is that going to take?”

“Also, the hinges are on our side,” Isa pointed out. “Will you be sliding the tools underneath the crack in the door?”

“...and there’s no window into that room,” Ventus realized.

“Wow guys,” Lea laughed. “I never expected us of all people to be the one’s at a standstill because of a single door.”

“Ven,” Aqua waved the boy closer, moving to stand on the opposite door from the wall and leaning down to him.

“Yeah? Do you have an idea?”

“Please have an idea,” Lea called out. “This can’t my end.”

“We’re not going to die here, Lea.”

“I’m just worried, Isa.”

“So?” Ventus raised an eyebrow at Aqua, tuning the two trapped idiots out.

She put the tips of her fingers to her lips before pulling her hand away, speaking quietly. “What if...we left them in there.”

“...what?”

“Hear me out,” she put up her hands at his shocked expression. “Not for very long! We’ll make some excuse to leave them on their own for a bit, they’ll get some quality time together, maybe it’ll get them talking about...things.”

“...this is the matchmaking thing! Aqua! Did you do this on purpose?”

“How would I have orchestrated a thing like this? You were the one who got the cabinet stuck in the first place,” she put her hands on her hips before giving him a pleading look. “Just a little bit. We say we’re going to get a construction worker, it’ll take awhile, and when we get back we can let them out. Its only for a bit!”

“This is silly, you know that right. Very silly. I’m never going to tell you when I get a crush so I won’t have to deal with your matchmaking.”

“Do you have a crush?”

“...no.”

Aqua and Ventus raised their eyebrows at one another, as if daring the other to deny his words.

“Well, either way I think we’ll have to get a construction worker anyways to get them out. Do you have any other ideas on how to free them?”

“Not really,” he grumbled. “If Terra was here, he’d stop you.”

“This is just me taking advantage of a situation as it comes to me, there’s nothing to stop,” she sniffed, walking back so the two trapped could hear her properly again. “Hey guys, Ven and I are going to go contact a construction worker, see if he has any solutions to get you out. You’ll just have to hang tight for a bit in there ok?”

“I do not want to just sit in a musty room all day Aqua,” Lea groaned. “Can’t you think of anything else?”

“It’ll be fine, it won’t be all day! You two can relax in there together!”

“On the dirty ground.”

She winced. “It’ll be fine.”

“It's so dirty Aqua.”

“This is ridiculous,” Isa snapped. “Everyone, move out of the way of the door.”

“Uh Isa what are you doing-”

Not knowing what was coming, both Aqua and Ven jumped to the side as Isa kicked the door. They all stood frozen for a moment, staring after the loud bang the attempt had made..

“...ow.”

“Oh my god you idiot,” Lea began laughing. “You thought you were gonna just kick it open?”

“Its an old door! It couldn’t be that strong.”

“It swings towards us, no way would that work!”

“You would’ve splintered the frame,” Aqua’s mind finally caught up to her. “Please don’t try that again, even if it would work that’ll just give us more work in the future.”

“Noted,” Isa grunted. “Fine. Go get the construction worker already.”

She gave the door a thumbs up, before Ven’s smirk at her made her realize the ridiculousness of the image. “Just sit tight, it shouldn’t take too long guys!”

“Sure…”

“C’mon Ven,” she waved the boy, hurrying down the hallway with a triumphant grin.

“You know, even though you didn’t set this up on purpose, I still think somehow you managed to will this situation into existence,” Ven remarked to her. “You’re just that powerful, you know.”

“Oh of course. All my keyblade training went into making the universe bend to my will to give me weird situations to force people to talk about their feelings.”

“Hey, you know keyblades,” he laughed. “Sometimes they do actually give you just what you need. Even if it doesn’t always make sense.”

“They do. They’re really weird like that.”

“Yeah, I don’t think about it too much.”

\--

“Wow it really just. Leaves us here,” Terra watched the magic train disappear. “...where do you think it goes when no one’s using it?”

“That's- I have no idea,” Riku laughed, walking backwards to the tower. “Coming?”

“I-yeah just give me a minute to uh. Collect myself?”

Riku nodded, getting the hint and walking off into the tower to let Yen Sid know they were there. Terra looked up at the sky, taking a deep breath.

All worlds shared one sky. He reached down into his pocket, grasping at thin air before remembering he had left his wayfinder behind at Master Eraqus’ grave, along with the others.

Would it be silly to ask Aqua to make them something new? It had been a comfort, being able to grasp it in his moments of uncertainty, something to die him back down to the earth.

He shook his head before turning back to the tower, his hand resting over his heart. Even without the wayfinder, he would still find his friends, no matter what. They were in his heart, and he was in theirs, they had a connection.

Together, they would be fine.

He hesitated before heading to the door. He’d be fine.

Entering and walking up the winding staircase (he needed to stop wondering about magical architecture) he reached the grand door at the top, taking a deep breath before entering with a knock. Riku turned to look back at him while Master Yen Sid smiled at his presence. “Ah, Terra. I’m glad you could make it. How is the mansion coming along?”

He gave the Master the traditional bow before walking forward. “Thank you Master Yen Sid for the invitation. And it's starting to really shape up, Aqua’s really got it all figured out for us.”

“That is good to hear,” he nodded, stroking his beard before looking at Riku. “Thank you Riku for coming as well. If you would like, the three good fairies I believe are having tea right now, you may join them.”

“Of course Master,” he bowed before giving Terra a reassuring smile, walking and leaving the two of them alone.

Terra tried not to show he was taking a deep breath as he had Master Yen Sid’s full attention.

“Would you like to sit, Terra?”

“No. Standing is ok, restless energy you know.”

“A trait found in most keyblade wielders, at least in my experience,” he nodded, folding his hands onto the table. “Now then. I believe diving right into this would be for the best, wouldn’t you agree?”

“Yeah,” he made an apologetic face. “I am sorry that it took me such a long time to respond.”

The older man held up his hand, dismissing the apology. “I asked you to come at your earliest convenience, Terra. I did not just mean when your schedule was open, but also when you were open mentally to speak with me.”

“It's… still not great to be keeping you waiting so long.”

“I am retired Terra, and the worlds are relatively calm right now. I am used to filling my days when necessary. Please, do not overwhelm yourselves in worries over this. I have already forgiven you, as I do not believe you have done me a grievous injury.”

Terra took a deep breath before releasing it, nodding. “Ok.”

Master Yen Sid nodded. “As I previously stated, I wish to discuss the nature of your darkness, and to offer my assistance with it. If you wish it.”

“That's the thing. I don’t really see how there is much to do about it,” he shrugged. “I mean, I’m handling it fine now.”

“Handling it is one thing, being able to move forward without it constantly plaguing your mind is another. One is a temporary solution, the other is something hopefully more permanent.”

The young man frowned. “I don’t understand.”

“Terra,” Master Yen Sid paused, stroking his beard. “I only ever had one student, and my lessons with him were less than conventional, considering how often he went to attend to his own concerns, rather than the concerns of apprenticeship.”

“King Mickey.”

“Exactly him. So I can not say if I am a good instructor or not, so perhaps my explanations are lacking. But,” he fixed Terra with a stern look. “I am intent on attempting to assist those who require wisdom. Are you willing to at least give me today, to see if our thoughts may align on this path and to gain the understanding which you claim to lack.”

Swallowing, Terra wondered if Yen Sid thought he was purposely acting dense. He didn’t think he was, but sometimes others had a perception of things then he did. Looking away for a moment before looking back, he cleared his throat. “Maybe a chair would be a good idea, actually. Since this is going to be… a long conversation.”

With a wave of Yen Sid’s hand, a chair flew into place behind Terra, letting him sit down.

“Let us begin then. I am not unaware of the struggles you’ve faced with your darkness before, nor am I blind to how your strength of heart kept you from falling into it completely,” he gave a nod of acknowledgement. “It was quite commendable on your part, not many would have been able to hold onto their sense of being as strongly as you did.”

“I wasn’t able to do much with it though.”

“Your will alone kept a suit of armor moving, Terra,” Yen Sid eyes pierced him, unwavering in their certainty. “I will not have constant self deprecation of your skills in my home, young man. When I find issue with how you act, I will let you know. Do not offer up defects when there are none.”

He shut his mouth with a click, giving a nod.

He really was a Master, with that tone of voice.

Waiting a few moments to see if Terra would say more, the wizard nodded his head. “This ability to fight back against Xehanort gives me the belief that you hold great potential within you, but a potential that requires great care of considering the discord within you. Tell me, do you use any of your darker abilities now a days?”

“No, I’ve been careful to avoid falling back into them.”

“I see. And how has your form handled this refusal to use them?”

“I,” he frowned at Yen Sid. “It's… a struggle? I got used to relying on them for awhile, so adjusting how I fight is taking some effort.”

Yen Sid nodded. “As I expected. None of us are beings of pure light, besides the exception of the Princess’ of Light, and we all have the potential for darkness. When we are greatly marked by it once, it is not something that can be simply wiped away by time.”

He gave a stiff nod. He knew that, his constant anxieties and worries about making the wrong choice and trusting the wrong people again plaguing him day by day. It made him feel stupid, not being able to realize true intentions of people when they were so obvious to everyone else.

“Which is why, to properly come to terms with this darkness, I do not believe you must try to completely stamp it out. You may suffer more in the long run if you do. Instead, you must come to an understanding with it, an acceptance of sorts.”

“What?” he blinked, staring at the wizard. “Master Yen Sid, excuse me but last time I gave into the darkness-”

“I am not suggesting to give into it, as Xehanort once tricked you into doing. I am instead suggesting to understand where it comes from, where this darkness first sprang from, and finding a way to take that and meld it to a more positive way,” he folded his hands together.

“I don’t… I still don’t get how.”

Yen Sid nodded. “It is an unconventional thing I am suggesting, although not one I think is impossible. Let me give an example of what I mean,” he stroked his beard, considering. “I will use anxiety here, an unfortunately common issue on the mind.”

Terra nodded, waiting for him to say more.

“Anxiety can choke us in worries, hold us back from doing what we need or want to do, become a tangible barrier from living our lives,” Yen Sid closed his eyes with a sigh. “But, if we humans did not have a little bit of anxiety, we would not be able to navigate life safely. We need it to make us pause in those situations where moving forward will harm us, where it is not a good idea to barrel forward recklessly.”

“You’re suggesting… we need a balance of it. Not too much and not too little.”

“Exactly,” the wizard smiled, his eyes opening up again. “I believe it is the same with darkness. After all, we are all made up of light and dark, this is a fact that will not change. It is important not to let darkness overwhelm you, but it is equally important to consider where the darkness is coming from and how to blend that into your life.”

Terra considered quietly, looking down at his hands. Master Eraqus had always taught him that using darkness would lead to ruin, had encouraged him to banish it from himself as thoroughly as possible. Then Xehanort had taken his frustration at being unable to do as his Master said and encouraged the other extreme, to give into it fully and let it run in his instincts.

Yen Sid’s suggestion for a middle ground was something new.

“I… I can see what you’re saying,” he nodded slowly. “Its… I’m still worried about using darkness in any way though, even if its...balanced.”

“Of course. I would not suggest jumping back into using those abilities of yours so quickly, but to lead up into it, gain a stronger base.”

“What kind of base are you suggesting?”

At this Master Yen Sid sighed. “This is where we would have to work together on the most, to fit your needs, and why I wanted young Riku to work with us if you agree to my ideas.”

“Why Riku? I mean, I know that he’s able to control his darkness but…”

“He is similar to you, not only in the usage of darkness, but in how he navigates life and interacts with those closest to him. He struggled with his own darkness for a long year, but was able, with the help of Sora and Kairi, to realize that just because he was overwhelmed, did not mean he was unworthy of their love.”

“Which means…”

“Riku fell to darkness due to not his grand ambitions, but what inspired them. Loneliness, his fears of growing up, it all fed into him, and then Ansem took advantage to tempt it further along,” Yen Sid nodded. “Once Riku was free of that influence and began to understand why he was feeling lonely, being more open with his friends and himself, he no longer suffered as he once did. I worry that he will always be prone to trying to isolate himself, but he has set up a support system that will hopefully catch him before he falls again.”

“So… basically, you want me to think of, what caused my darkness to flare up, even before Xehanort’s influence… and then find a support system that will keep it from overwhelming me.”

“Yes. Perhaps this will make it so you are unable to use darkness anymore, or as I expect, it will allow you to no longer fear it overtaking you,” Yen Sid spread his hands. “This is of course, if you are open to working with me on this. I would have you speak with Riku, gain his advice, and work to open yourself up to your emotions. It will undoubtedly be uncomfortable at times, so I will understand if you decide that you would be happier to drop this train of thought.”

Leaning back in his chair, Terra sighed, thinking. He wasn’t completely sold on what Yen Sid was saying, struggling to see the exact path that he was trying to guide him on. And digging into his darker emotions really did seem… rough.

Although, he didn’t have any other options available, his own attempts admittedly just a short term solution.

“I think… I’d like to try it out for a bit,” Terra said softly. “No harm in just trying it, right?”

“Well said, Terra,” Yen Sid nodded. “Then, let us begin.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before anyone gets onto me about keyblade magic not needing a keyhole to open things technically; I'm using the Nomura patented technique of "I'm choosing what keyblade abilities happen in this situation because I want this scene to happen this way" ok?
> 
> Also, spent a lot of time on Terra's and Yen Sid's conversation on darkness and finding a balance of things. Its a lot of me considering how Riku's character development allowed him to use darkness safely and my own thoughts on working with anxiety. Hopefully its clear on what's being set up here.


End file.
